Howard Hodgkin

(Gordon) Howard Eliot Hodgkin Hodgkin studied at Camberwell School of Art and the Bath Academy of Art (1949-54), and in 1962 had his first solo show in London. In 1984 he exhibited in the British Pavilion at the Venice Bienniale, going on to win the Turner Prize the following year. He received his knighthood in 1992. Hodgkin was best known for his highly coloured abstract works of which the frame is often an integral part of the composition. He was also a maker of prints, some of which reflect his interest in Indian art. 'My studio is of necessity a very isolated building…All four walls are covered with screens of different sizes, mostly even dirtier depending on their age. Each one conceals a painting…which enables me to look at one picture at a time.'

Text © National Portrait Gallery, London