Screenprints: A History

Screenprints: A History, the first title in the V&A’s new series on the history and practice of printmaking, is a celebration of the fine-art applications of this versatile medium, from the commercial origins of the screenprinting process in 1920s America, its pivotal role in 1960s Pop and Op Art among artists such as Andy Warhol and Bridget Riley, through to its adoption by Damien Hirst and the YBAs of the 1990s, and its enduring presence in contemporary art. This beautifully designed, strikingly illustrated introduction will appeal to art lovers and practising artists everywhere.

The origins of the screenprinting process are introduced through early artistic precursors, such as the stencil and pochoir printing in the making of Henri Matisse’s Jazz, and other artists’ books. Screenprinting became one of the most important techniques in the rise of artists’ limited-edition fine art prints from the 1960s onwards, seen here in the work of notable figures such as Roy Lichtenstein and Eduardo Paolozzi, and contemporary artists such as Damien Hirst, who have variously engaged with the medium’s commercial origins and, conversely, its capacity for a hand-made aesthetic.

Special focus is given to lesser-known names who pioneered the use of the screenprint in fine art in the UK, the USA and Europe, including Francis Carr and Ben Shahn, while tracing its global spread through Africa, the Caribbean and Australasia. An illustrated, step-by-step guide to the practical process further enriches this multifaceted account. The democratic medium has further lent itself to spontaneous graphic protest, notably in the Atelier Populaire posters made in Paris in 1968, featured here and embodying screenprinting’s unique qualities, rich colours and graphic impact.