Bill Jacklin

London born, New York based artist Bill Jacklin (b.1943) attended Walthamstow School of Art from 1960 to 1961 to study graphic design, working as a graphic designer at Studio Seven, London after graduating. In 1962, he returned to his studies at Walthamstow and began studying painting. From 1964 to 1967 he enrolled in the Royal College of Art in London. Jacklin's early career was marked by his Abstract style, yet by the mid-1970s, and as his interest changed toward studies of light and movement, his work moved towards Figuration. However, the abstract tendencies of Jacklin are still very much evident in his figurative works, as his crowded city landscapes often appear as patterns of light and dark, making them simultaneously remote and familiar. In 1989, Jacklin was inducted into the prestigious Royal Academy of Art, and in 1991 was elected Royal Academician.

Jacklin does not make prints regularly, but every couple of years has focused intervals of printmaking concentrating on monotypes. When he returns to etching he does not simply readjust to the medium, but each time searches for something new in the process. Jacklin explained his method, stating he does not start with a composition, but, "has a black plate and floods the light in." In his recent monotypes the addition of aquatint to the monoprint plate adds depth to his powerful monochromatic images.

Jacklin's work is in collections worldwide, including the Arts Council of Great Britain, London, England; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; British Museum, London, England; Irish Art Council, Dublin Isle of Man Arts Council, Ireland; Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum Boymans-van-Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Tate Gallery, London, England; Thyssen-Bornemisza Foundation, Castagnola, Switzerland; Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England; and the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut.