Stanley William Hayter
(1901–)
(–1988)
Stanley William Hayter
1901–1988
Stanley William Hayter (1901–1988) was an English painter and printmaker who was a member of the 1930’s surrealists and the abstract expressionists of the 1940s. He is known for his innovative work in developing viscosity printing, a multi-color printmaking technique that incorporates relief and intaglio printing principles. Hayter was also the founder of the legendary Atelier 17 studio, an experimental workshop space for the graphic arts in Paris, in 1927. The studio attracted many artists to share ideas on aesthetics and technique and was well attended for its collaborative and communal atmosphere. The studio became the most influential European print workshop of the twentieth century.
Born in Hackney, London, Hayter initially received his education at King’s College London, specializing in Geology and Chemistry. Still, his passion for fine art was expressed while he worked overseas. His workplace (an Anglo-Persian Oil Company) coordinated a successful solo exhibition at their headquarters. This exhibition is believed to have encouraged him to pursue an artistic career.
He subsequently moved to Paris and studied at the Académie Jullian in 1924, there he was taught by Polish printmaker Jożef Hecht copper engraving using the traditional burin technique. Opening Atelier 17 brought him in contact with many prominent artists, including Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, and Wassily Kandinsky. In the 1940s, Hayter relocated the studio to New York City, which brought in many American artists, including Jackson Pollock, who were influenced by Hayter’s emphasis on automatism and reliance on the unconscious. By the 1950s, Hayter took the Atelier with him back to Paris and continued to work there.
Hayter was a skillful printmaker, completing over 400 works in the medium before his death. He also wrote about the practice of printmaking: his writings include New Ways of Gravure (1949, revised 1966), About Prints (1962), and The Nature and Art of Motion (1964). He was made Officer (1959) and Commander (1967) in the Order of the British Empire, and an Honorary Royal Academician (1982).