Highlights from the Collection

Richard Hambleton (1952-2017) was one of the defining figures of New York's downtown art scene in the early 1980s, alongside Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. Often referred to as "The Godfather of Street Art", Hambleton bridged conceptual art, performance, and expressionist painting. Banksy has acknowledged him as an important influence on his stencil practice. Though born in Vancouver, Canada, it was New York—where he lived and worked until his death in 2017—that defined his career. Hambleton is best known for his iconic Shadowmen—anonymous black silhouettes painted with explosive gestures that seem to lunge, lean, spin, and dissolve beyond the picture plane. They first appeared on the streets of the Lower East Side in the early 1980s, amplifying the neighborhood's post-apocalyptic feel. His Horse and Rider series emerged during the same period as a direct response to the mythology of the Marlboro cowboy adverts from the 1970s and 1980s—an idealized image of rugged independence, masculinity, and freedom that America exported around the world. Hambleton's work cannot be separated from the New York in which it was created. The city of the 1980s was rough, exhilarating, and deeply creative—a place where economic hardship existed alongside the extraordinary explosion of art, music, fashion, and culture. His paintings embody the tension and restless energy of that moment. Despite his prominence in the 1980s, Hambleton remained largely overlooked for decades. A traveling retrospective sponsored by Giorgio Armani (2009-2011) and the 2017 documentary Shadowman renewed international interest in his work. Today, Hambleton is increasingly recognized as a foundational figure in the history of street art, with works exhibited at institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, MoMA PS1, the Brooklyn Museum, the New Museum, the Andy Warhol Museum, and Palais de Tokyo. He lived and worked in New York until his death in 2017.

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