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Stanley William Hayter

Stanley William Hayter, born in London in 1901, was a painter and a significant, highly influential printmaker. After first moving to Paris in 1926, Hayter became associated with Surrealism in the 1930s through his friendships with other artists and his interest in automatism. In 1927, Hayter founded the Atelier 17 printmaking studio in Paris, where he produced his own prints and worked with many artists, including Picasso and Miro. In 1940, when war broke out, Hayter relocated Atelier 17 to New York: many American artists, including Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, made prints at the New York Atelier 17, and Hayter became involved with the Abstract Expresssionist movement. In 1950, Hayter returned to Paris with Atelier 17. In 1964, Hayter was  described by Art in America as  'the acknowledged father of contemporary printmaking', with his Atelier 17 in New York and Paris 'considered the most influential print studio in the world'. His works, and in particular his innovative prints, are represented in museum collections worldwide. Hayter died in Paris in 1988.

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