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Just what is it that makes today's homes so different?

1991
Not on view
This work is a remake of Hamilton’s famous 1956 collage that, according to the artist, “seemed due for an update.” Using the Quantel Paintbox system, Hamilton populated his interior, based on a postcard of a Spanish hotel room, with images suited to the less optimistic mood of the early 1990s: the body builder of the early version has become a financier engrossed in his work; the AIDS painting, by the Canadian artists’ group General Idea (ca. 1988), grimly parodies Robert Indiana’s famous LOVE (1965); and scenes of war and devastation are seen through the windows.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Just what is it that makes today's homes so different?
  • Artist: Richard Hamilton (British, London 1922–2011 Oxfordshire)
  • Date: 1991
  • Medium: Electrophotographic print
  • Edition: 24/25 + 3 artist's proofs
  • Dimensions: 11 3/4 × 16 5/8 in. (29.8 × 42.2 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Reba and Dave Williams Gift, 2000
  • Object Number: 2000.397
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

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Lobby, Richard Hamilton British, Color collotype and screenprint
Lobby
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1984
Self-Portrait, Richard Hamilton British, Color screenprint
Self-Portrait
Richard Hamilton
1967
Portrait of Dieter Roth, Richard Hamilton British, Inkjet print
Portrait of Dieter Roth
Richard Hamilton
1998
Swingeing London 67, Richard Hamilton British, Etching, aquatint, photoetching, and collage, embossed and die stamped with metallic foil
Swingeing London 67
Richard Hamilton
Petersburg Press
1968
Five Tyres Remoulded
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1971

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