Born in 1939, Rita Donagh is a revolutionary artist known for her realistic paintings and painstaking draughtsmanship. Formerly, she taught at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne where she met Richard Hamilton (artist) whom she later married. She also taught at the University of Reading, the Slade School of Art, and Goldsmiths College, University of London. In the 1960s and 70s, her work was largely conceptual with her Irish ancestry contributing to the subject of many works depicting the political siutation in Northern Ireland. Richard Hamilton's influence of collage and oil paint showed up in her works of the 1970s. Later, she focused on the human figure including such work as Slade of 1994. She continued her interest in politics with works such as Downing Street Declaration 1993 which included a Hamilton-esque, televised image of Prime Minister John Major. Rita continues to work with her husband in their home studio in Oxfordshire, England and is one of the great living women painters of our time.
Bibliography
- Rita Donagh: Paintings and Drawings (exhibition catalog, ed. M. Regan; Manchester, U. Manchester, Whitworth A.G., 1977)
- Rita Donagh 197419841994: Paintings and Drawings (exhibition catalog, essay Dr. Sarat Maharaj, Manchester, Cornerhouse, 1994)
