Eduardo Paolozzi

Difficult early years in the shadow of the Second World War

Eduardo Paolozzi was born on 7 March 1924 in Leith in Edinburgh. His parents were Italian immigrants which brought him much trouble in 1940 on the occasion of Italy’s declaration of war on Great Britain. Like many other Italian-born men, he was classified as an ‘enemy alien’ and imprisoned for three months. On his release, Paolozzi attended the College of Art in Edinburgh in 1943, started a course at St Martin’s School of Art in 1944 and moved a year later to London to study at the Slade School of Fine Art until 1947. Paolozzi owed many important impulses to a two-year stay in Paris where he met reputable artists such as Hans Arp, Constantin Brâncuși, Alberto Giacometti and Jean Dubuffet at the École des Beaux-Arts. They all left traces in Paolozzi’s later work, who returned to London in 1949 to work himself as a teacher and taught textile design at the Central School of Arts and Crafts and sculpture at St Martin’s School of Arts. From 1952, he was a member of the young artists’ association ‘Independent Group’ – and thus finally had arrived at the start of Pop Art. 

The master of British Pop Art

Between Surrealism, everyday aesthetics and an enthusiasm for technology, Eduardo Paolozzi developed his own style of sculpture, and also collaborated with industrial companies. The artist knew no fear of contact in his art: He was fascinated by the scorned mass media, and from the lowlands of the trivial - which included banal objects of the everyday and proven tastelessness - he created unique showpieces and entire fantasy scenarios with his own visionary power. Paolozzi felt at home with his art everywhere; he designed subways, fountains and playgrounds in various major European cities including London, Munich and Linz. He was at home all over the world, gave tuition at German universities, and took part in exhibitions of international standing. He was represented at documenta in Kassel four times and won the David E Bright Prize at the Venice Biennale in 1960. His interest in music was equally as diverse as his artistic work: His cover for the McCartney album Red Rose Speedway (1973) is famous, whilst he expressed his admiration for Anton Bruckner with a Hommage à Anton Bruchner. Paolozzi drew inspiration from many sources, including illustrations from books by the German doctor Fritz Kahn from which he created several collages and a book cover. 

Great honour, great legacy

Eduardo Paolozzi received many prizes and awards, and was made Knight Commander by Queen Elizabeth II in 1986. He narrowly escaped death in 2001 after a severe stroke and was subsequently confined to a wheelchair. The Scottish master of Pop Art died in a London hospital on 22 April 2005. A large part of his work and a replica of his studio can be seen in his native city of Edinburgh – Eduardo Paolozzi himself had donated the exhibits to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern art for this purpose in 1994.