Tom Phillips, Ten Views of the Union Jack, 1976
Phillips was a quirky, literate artist – he had illustrated Dante – who balanced gracefully between pop art and conceptualism. Here he analysed the British flag by printing it repeatedly with different degrees of solidity and clarity, questioning what it meant on the eve of punk in 1976 – and what it means today.
Barbara Newcomb, Swimmer, 1984
This American artist who trained at the famous Atelier 17 school of modern printmaking in Paris and made her career in Britain is all about clear, refreshing colours. Here she portrays a gold body moving through blue and white waves that soothe and revive. It’s not exactly challenging, but it could help you get through the day.
Michael Stokoe, Flash Past
Artist and teacher Stokoe created many abstract works and mixed media experiments but this is one of his more conventional prints. You can see his passion for geometry in the coloured bars that slice through the composition, giving it a futurist feel.
Bob and Roberta Smith, Bring Back Edinburgh’s Trams, 2009
This is either a witty example of Smith’s democratic, agitprop art or a twee protestation of his good intentions, depending on how you feel about this well-known contemporary artist. Has Bob and Roberta ever wanted to create something soulful instead of social? At any rate it’s a typical piece by a successful modern British artist.
Howard Hodgkin, Herb Garden, 2014
The art of Howard Hodgkin is about colour and memory. Pungent hues recall people and places but those associations are left unexplained. The garden he evokes here was probably a special setting for him. We feel the intensity of it in his vivid greens. Can you smell the thyme?
Carmen Gracia, Nouveau Né…, 1964
There are hints of maps and journeys in this enigmatic 1960s work. Desert colours and patterns suggest ancient ceramics or textiles. The Argentinian artist Gracia studied in Paris and London and has worked in many media. This print has a secretive mystique and power.
Barbara Newcomb, Race V, 1972
Another print by Newcomb that creates a flowing feeling of space and motion. Yet like many works on Hunt’s wall it’s a walk on the bland side. When all is said and done, what does it tell us that a photo of athletes wouldn’t? This is art to be enjoyed with a cup of tea and cucumber sandwich.
Bernard Cheese, Jubilant Crowd, c 1980
Pembrokeshire-based Cheese had a long career painting everyday life and quiet landscapes. Here he distils the idea of celebration in a cartoon-like print of people releasing a host of bright balloons. It’s not exactly replete with artistic tension. Or humour. Its optimism is too simplistic to cheer you up and might even depress you.
Robert Tavener, Sussex Boats & Nets (No 2), 1970
The Sussex prints of this artist and teacher who died in 2004 have a considered abstract quality that renders real scenes in sharp, suggestive colours and simplified but true shapes. It’s a very recognisable style. Here he gives an ordinary beach scene a distilled Romantic lyricism that would make a great cover for an album of sea shanties.
• This article was amended on 27 November 2023 because an earlier version referred to Tom Phillips in the present tense, whereas he died in 2022.
