Derrick Greaves: From Kitchen Sink to Shangri-La

The first major monograph on Derrick Greaves.

Derrick Greaves (b.1927) initially gained acclaim in the 1950s, when he represented Britain at the Venice Biennale along with the other 'Kitchen Sink' painters with whom he was associated: John Bratby, Edward Middleditch and Jack Smith. This is the first book to trace Greaves's entire career to date, providing insight into how his work developed from the social realism of the 1950s to a more heraldic style that paralleled 1960s Pop Art. James Hyman provides a broadly chronological account of the artist's life and work, tracing his years in Sheffield, London, Italy, Woburn and Norwich. He explores the development of Greaves's imagery, from paintings based on nature and observable fact to more studio-bound imaginative constructs. Hyman places the artist in the context of his contemporaries, from the realists of the 1950s to the Pop artists of the 1960s. Published to coincide with the artist's 80th birthday celebrations, this book will be welcomed by art historians, curators, collectors, dealers and all those with an interest in the recent history of British art.