Rita Donagh

Who is Rita Donagh?

Rita Donagh is an artist known for her realistic paintings and painstaking draughtsmanship.

Formerly, Rita Donagh taught at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne where she met Richard Hamilton, whom she later married. She also taught at the University of Reading, the Slade School of Art, and Goldsmiths, University of London. In the 1960s and 1970s, her work was largely conceptual with her Irish ancestry contributing to the subject of many works depicting the political situation in Northern Ireland. Richard Hamilton's influence of collage and oil paint showed up in her works of the 1970s. Later, she focused on the human figure including such work as Slade of 1994. She continued her interest in politics with works such as Downing Street Declaration 1993 which included a Hamilton-esque, televised image of Prime Minister John Major.

Donagh, who was recently widowed, lives and works in Oxfordshire, England.