Richard Hamilton: introspective

The most important book on Richard Hamilton's life and work

Richard Hamilton: introspective explores the life and contributions of Richard Hamilton (1922 - 2011), an English painter and collage artist whose impact on art over the last half-century is internationally recognised. This publication acts as a companion piece to Retrospective, a catalogue raisonné (1937-2000) published in 2003, in which each image is reproduced to scale without commentary.

Hamilton began the writing and designing of this companion book in 2007, during a period of reduced mobility due to a broken hip, under the attribution of Phillip Spectre. With his return to health, the demands of a professional life relegated the work to evenings and weekends. As Hamilton progressed, content, typography, and images evolved together, with the Adobe InDesign computer programme playing a significant role in its development, much like copper and acid were integral to the illustrated books of William Blake.

No changes or additions were made to Hamilton’s unfinished work. Richard Hamilton: introspective is published as he left it in 2011, complete with blank pages, pagination, and all other original elements.