Patrick Caulfield

Now available in paperback for the first time, this is the only major monograph to be published on the paintings of Patrick Caulfield, whose work has enjoyed widespread popular appeal and critical acclaim over the past four decades. When Caulfield established his reputation in the early 1960s, his deadpan handling and his reliance on vivid, flat colours encased in uniform black outlines led to him being hailed as one of the originators of Pop Art in England. Caulfield himself consistently denied an interest in popular culture, preferring instead to make timeless pictures that subtly and with great originality reconfigured such traditional subjects as interiors and still-lives. Marked by a graphic elegance, a finely tuned colour sense and a sometimes melancholy air, these are among the most haunting paintings of the late twentieth century. Illustrating over 150 works, this book reproduces almost all the paintings made by Caulfield since 1961, when he was still studying at the Royal College of Art alongside such painters as David Hockney and R. B. Kitaj. In so doing, it comprehensively charts the evolution of one of the most thoughtful and engaging painters of our time. It weaves together analytical and interpretative texts published over the past quarter century by Marco Livingstone, the foremost authority on Caulfield's work, with new material on different phases of the artist's career. Individual key paintings are awarded separate, in-depth attention. The significant events in his life and career are charted in a comprehensive chronology compiled by Richard Riley. "Patrick Caulfield: Paintings" is a long overdue assessment of the work of one of Britain's most important painters, whose work has continued to prove extremely influential on subsequent generations. It will be welcomed by art specialists and enthusiasts alike.