Roger Hilton

Roger Hilton (1911–1975) was a British painter whose work occupies an important place in the development of post-war abstraction and in the history of the St Ives group. Born in Northwood, Middlesex, he studied at the Slade School of Fine Art and subsequently at the Académie Ranson in Paris, where he encountered the work of the French painter Roger Bissière. After serving in the army during the Second World War, including a period as a prisoner of war, Hilton returned to painting and teaching.

Around 1950, Hilton moved decisively towards abstraction. His early abstract paintings were informed by European developments including the work of Piet Mondrian, Art Informel and Tachisme, but he resisted being identified simply with any particular movement. His paintings of the mid-1950s often combine geometric structures with increasingly gestural handling of paint, while his visits to Cornwall introduced associations with landscape and the rhythms of the natural environment.

From 1957 Hilton spent increasing amounts of time in Cornwall, settling permanently at Botallack, near St Just, in 1965. He became associated with the St Ives artists, while maintaining a distinct approach to abstraction. During the early 1960s he reintroduced figurative motifs, particularly female nudes, alongside references to boats and landscape. His later years were marked by illness, but he continued to work, producing small-scale gouaches and drawings characterised by simplified forms and a more direct use of colour. Hilton represented Britain at the 1964 Venice Biennale and was appointed CBE in 1968.

Untitled - Roger Hilton

Untitled - Roger Hilton

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