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Stanley William Hayter
1901–1988
BirthplaceHackney (now a part of London), England
Death placeParis, France
BiographyInternationally renowned as an innovative printmaker, Stanley William Hayter actively promoted the print as an independent art form. Born to an artistically inclined family, Hayter studied chemistry and geology at London's Kings College. After receiving his degree in 1921, he worked as a chemist for an oil company in the Persian Gulf, painting and drawing in his spare time. Abandoning science, in 1926, he moved to Paris to study art at the Académie Julian, a private art school. Captivated by the "chemistry" of printmaking, he began making engravings. Following his first participation in the Salon d'Automne, an important exhibition for contemporary art, a Paris gallery presented a solo show of his paintings and prints. In 1927, Hayter established a collaborative printmaking and teaching workshop that encouraged artists to experiment in intaglio in addition to providing Hayter himself with convenient access to costly printmaking equipment, materials and expert printers. In 1933, after he moved the workshop to 17, rue Campagne-Premier, it became known as Atelier 17. In the 1930s, Hayter associated with surrealist artists, whose interest in the subconscious and an unpremeditated approach to image-making influenced him. During this period, Hayter's reputation grew as he exhibited his technically adventurous abstract prints throughout Europe.
At the beginning of World War II, Hayter abandoned Atelier 17 and returned to England, where he organized a camouflage unit. In 1940, he relocated to New York City and recast Atelier 17 as a course for advanced students and professional artists at the New School for Social Research. As the most important intaglio printmaking workshop in America, this new Atelier 17 provided a dynamic forum for European avant-garde émigrés and American artists to meet and freely experiment with various graphic techniques and materials. In 1944, the Museum of Modern Art organized a major exhibition of prints created at Atelier 17. The show circulated around the United States for two years, cultivating interest in modern printmaking, and Hayter's work in particular, among artists and collectors nationwide. In 1945, Hayter left the New School to set up a larger Atelier 17 workshop in Greenwich Village. From 1945 to 1951, Hayter also regularly conducted intaglio workshops at the Philadelphia Print Club. In 1949, he published New Ways of Gravure, still a definitive book on intaglio technique. Leaving the New York Atelier 17 to be directed by others (until it closed in 1955), Hayter returned to Paris in 1950 to re-establish Atelier 17 there. Artists from all over the world came to work at Atelier 17, which operates today as Atelier Contrepoint.
At the beginning of World War II, Hayter abandoned Atelier 17 and returned to England, where he organized a camouflage unit. In 1940, he relocated to New York City and recast Atelier 17 as a course for advanced students and professional artists at the New School for Social Research. As the most important intaglio printmaking workshop in America, this new Atelier 17 provided a dynamic forum for European avant-garde émigrés and American artists to meet and freely experiment with various graphic techniques and materials. In 1944, the Museum of Modern Art organized a major exhibition of prints created at Atelier 17. The show circulated around the United States for two years, cultivating interest in modern printmaking, and Hayter's work in particular, among artists and collectors nationwide. In 1945, Hayter left the New School to set up a larger Atelier 17 workshop in Greenwich Village. From 1945 to 1951, Hayter also regularly conducted intaglio workshops at the Philadelphia Print Club. In 1949, he published New Ways of Gravure, still a definitive book on intaglio technique. Leaving the New York Atelier 17 to be directed by others (until it closed in 1955), Hayter returned to Paris in 1950 to re-establish Atelier 17 there. Artists from all over the world came to work at Atelier 17, which operates today as Atelier Contrepoint.