Maggi Hambling
Born – Sudbury, England 1945
Maggi Hambling is a versatile artist whose painting and sculpture cannot be defined in terms of a particular style or movement. Her fierce independence as an artist is complemented by her androgynous appearance and a vibrant personality that thrives on parties and living the good life. Her paintings are appropriately shot through with vitality. Her sunset pictures and abstracts on laughter are brilliantly coloured and suffused with emotional intensity. From 1960, Lett Haines and Cedric Morris encouraged her development and her attendance at the Ipswich School of Art from 1962 to 1964. She went on to study at the Camberwell School of Art and The Slade School of Art. Her period as first Artist in Residence at the National Gallery in 1980 to 1981 established her as a significant contemporary artist. Max Wall and his Image is one of a number of portraits of the comedian that helped to secure popular recognition of her multifarious skills. Hambling also created a significant series of paintings devoted to her fascination with the Greek myth of the Minotaur. Despite its gruesome implications, Hambling injected sensitivity into the subject. “In the end”, she has said, “there is only the physical reality of paint.”
Masterpieces:
- Max and Me (In Praise of Smoking)
- George Melly
Text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.
Books About maggi hambling
Maggi Hambling: The Works and conversations with Andrew Lambirth
Maggis Hambling
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Towards Laughter: Maggi Hambling
Maggi Hambling
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Maggi Hambling: An Eye Through a Decade 1981-1991
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