‘White Album’ Sleeve Designer Dies at 89
Richard Hamilton, the “Father of Pop Art” who designed the Beatles‘ iconic White Album cover, died yesterday in England at age 89.
Hamilton’s art collages of the 1950s directly inspired Sir Peter Blake, who created the Beatles‘ Sgt. Pepper cover. For his own design for the blank White Album cover and the collage-style poster inside, Hamilton claimed to have been paid the equivalent of $316.
He was closely associated with the Swinging London of the 1960s. One of his well-known paintings depicted Mick Jagger and art dealer Robert Fraser handcuffed together in the back of a police car. As a teacher, one of his art students was Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music. Hamilton is often credited as one of the original pop artists, as well as the coiner of the phrase.
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