Derek Boshier: A talent recognized by David Bowie, David Hockney and The Clash

Although Boshier was known as a pioneer of the British Pop Art movement, he saw himself more as a “populist artist” – using his working-class background to create sociopolitical commentary in his art.

After causing a stir in the British pop art scene in the 1970s and 1980s, he moved to the United States, where he lived for over 40 years until his death at the age of 87.

Born in Portsmouth on 6 June 1937, he spent his teenage years in Dorset and, much to the surprise of his teachers, attended Grammar School after passing his sixth form examinations.

After initially considering a career as a butcher, he attended art school in Yeovil, which he said changed his life.

He later applied to the prestigious Royal College of Art in London and was accepted alongside other famous contemporary faces such as Allen Jones, Peter Phillips and David Hockney.

Boshier was considered one of the pioneers of the Pop Art scene after appearing alongside others such as Peter Blake and Pauline Boty in a 1962 documentary film entitled Pop Goes The Easel, which was shot while he was still a student at the Royal College.

In the same year he took part in the exhibition “Young Contemporaries”, which brought this art form into the public consciousness.

Despite his roots in the world of Pop Art, Boshier did not consider himself a Pop artist.

“That was a phase of my work, although it has influenced all my work for the last 60 years. I am a populist artist,” he told the PA news agency in an interview in 2022 before his death.

In the early 1970s, Boshier taught at the Central School of Art and Design, where one of his students was John Mellor, later known as Joe Strummer, of The Clash.

This led to Boshier designing The Clash's second songbook, which included a collection of drawings and paintings published in conjunction with their famous 1978 album Give 'Em Enough Rope.

A major breakthrough came in 1979 with his groundbreaking work “Lives,” an exhibition of artists whose work was based on the lives of other people.

The show covered a wide range of artistic activities, from cartoonists and graphic designers to video and performance artists, with well-known names such as RB Kitaj, Bruce McLean and Hockney.

This exhibition caught the attention of Bowie, who asked famous portrait photographer Brian Duffy to introduce the two to each other – the beginning of a friendship that would last for the next 37 years.

Boshier designed the cover art for Bowie's groundbreaking albums “Lodger” and “Let's Dance” and also designed the inner gatefold for the latter.

“I found him so interesting and we had a lot of things in common too, British, working class etc,” Boshier told PA.

The two were so close that shortly before his death in January 2016, Bowie wrote a personal letter to Boshier praising his talent.

“Their work is passed down from generation to generation,” the note said.

In 1980, Boshier moved to Houston, Texas, at a time when the city was receiving national and international attention for its contemporary art scene.

Two years later, Bowie asked Boshier to design the set for the 1983 Serious Moonlight Tour.

In his later years, Boshier moved to Los Angeles, California – and continued to address serious sociopolitical issues such as gun control and police brutality.

“I would like to think that I have contributed something to both the art world and the real world,” he told PA.

“I was and am always aware that each of my works is not only intended for the art world, but is also actually accessible.

“The whole point (of my work) is that it is accessible, you don’t have to read text to understand it.

“As an artist you have to make decisions about what kind of art you make.

“I'm not an artist who tends towards technology in my work because I always like the feeling of humanity. That's why (a lot of) the work is hand-drawn… the story in which I make this work is obvious.”

Boshier has also received numerous awards, including an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Art in 2016, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and an award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

In his later years, he exhibited at Gazelli Art House in 2021, where large-scale works titled “Icarus and K-Pop” were shown, inspired by the Korean television show “King of Mask Singers” and the myth of Icarus. The same gallery also hosted the exhibition “Reinventor”.

He also had artwork shown at Image in Revolt at Wolverhampton Art Gallery, curated by Helen Little.