In 1952, at the first Independent Group meeting held at the ICA, Hamilton was introduced to Eduardo Paolozzi and his seminal presentation of collages produced in the late 1940s and early 1950s. These are now considered to be the beginnings of the Pop Art movement. Together the group worked on the This Is Tomorrow exhibition held in the Whitechapel Gallery in London’s East End in 1956.

Hamilton’s Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing? was used to publicise the exhibition and it made him famous. He was invited to lecture at the Royal Academy of Art and later The Royal College of Art. He became a leading teacher influencing Peter Blake, David Hockney and Pauline Boty while in London and Bryan Ferry (one of his students), among others while in Newcastle. In fact, in 1977 Ferry went on to record This is Tomorrow on a solo album as a tribute to Hamilton and the influence of the exhibition on his own creativity. 

From the mid-1960s, Hamilton was represented by Robert Fraser and even produced a series of prints, Swingeing London, based on Fraser’s arrest, along with Mick Jagger, for possession of drugs. This association with the pop music scene continued as he became friends with Paul McCartney resulting in him producing the cover design and other material for the White Album. From the 1970s much of his work showed his fascination with new technology. Hamilton attempted to blur the boundaries between artwork and product design and investigated the printmaking process to achieve unusual and complex combinations. 

In 1992, he was commissioned by the BBC to recreate his famous art piece, Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing? but from a 1990s perspective. Instead of the male body builder, he used an accountant working at a desk. Instead of the female icon, he used a world class female body builder.

Buy his artworks from mainstream galleries here.