Sir Eduardo Paolozzi

(1924-2005)

Sir Eduardo Paolozzi was a Scottish sculptor, printmaker, and designer regarded as one of the pioneers of Pop Art in Britain. Born in Leith, Edinburgh, to Italian immigrant parents, he studied at Edinburgh College of Art, Saint Martin’s School of Art, and the Slade School of Fine Art. His work drew on popular culture, science fiction, engineering, and mass media, combining imagery from advertising, machinery, and modern technology into complex assemblages and collages. He was elected a Royal Academician in 1979 and knighted in 1989. Paolozzi played a central role in post-war British art through sculpture, collage, printmaking, and public commissions, including mosaics for Tottenham Court Road Underground station. Printmaking formed a major part of his practice, particularly screenprinting and lithography, which allowed him to experiment with repetition, fragmentation, and mechanical imagery. Paolozzi worked extensively with Curwen Studio and Stanley Jones from the 1960s onwards, producing important lithographic portfolios including As Is When (1965), inspired by the writings of Ludwig Wittgenstein. His collaborations with Curwen were central to the development of experimental British printmaking and remain among the most significant artist-printer partnerships associated with the Studio.