The cultural impact of British artists cannot be ignored. Some of the most famous artists ever are from the UK, and many of the greatest painters are known all over the world.
From the classic painters, through to the portrait painters tasked with painting royals and the wealthy classes, and even contemporary British artists and famous British sculptors.
Art is an unbelievably varied concept, and art is undeniably everywhere in society. It is as important today as it has ever been, and in this guide we’re celebrating the British impact on art.
It is impossible to list the very best British painters or UK artists, as everybody has their own opinions, but our selection is designed to serve as a brilliant starting point for exploring some of the most influential and greatest artists to have come from the UK.
Overview of Influential British Artists
| Artist Name | Period | Style/Movement | Famous Works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Francis Bacon | 1909-1992 | Expressionism/Surrealism | Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion, Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X |
| Lucian Freud | 1922-2011 | Expressionism/Realism | Benefits Supervisor Sleeping, Girl with a White Dog |
| John Constable | 1776-1837 | Romanticism | The Hay Wain, Dedham Vale |
| Banksy | Unknown | Street Art | Girl with Balloon, The Flower Thrower |
| L.S. Lowry | 1887-1976 | Modernism/Naïve Art | Coming from the Mill, The Football Match |
| Damien Hirst | 1965-present | Young British Artists (YBA) | The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, For the Love of God |
| J.M.W. Turner | 1775-1851 | Romanticism | The Fighting Temeraire, Rain, Steam and Speed |
| David Hockney | 1937-present | Pop Art | A Bigger Splash, Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) |
| Tracey Emin | 1963-present | Young British Artists (YBA) | My Bed, Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995 |
| Henry Moore | 1898-1986 | Modernism/Abstract Art | Reclining Figure series, Family Group |
| William Hogarth | 1697-1764 | Rococo/Age of Enlightenment | A Rake's Progress, Marriage A-la-Mode |
| Barbara Hepworth | 1903-1975 | Modernism/Abstract Art | Pelagos, Single Form |
| Bridget Riley | 1931-present | Op Art | Movement in Squares, Blaze |
| Rachel Whiteread | 1963-present | Young British Artists (YBA) | House, Ghost |
Francis Bacon
Great art is always a way of concentrating, reinventing what is called fact, what we know of our existence - a reconcentration... tearing away the veils that fact acquires through time.
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon is one of the most successful and famous British artists of the 20th century, achieving a huge level of success and acclaim during his lifetime (and since).
Bacon was born in Dublin to British parents in 1909 and lived until the 1990s, with his work spanning six different decades and providing a fascinating artistic history of the time. Bacon’s work is not to everybody’s tastes, especially due to the fact that it can be quite disturbing and deals with heavy themes.
Bacon’s work spanned a lot of different styles, too. As well as portraits he was interested in surrealism and cubism and his work evolved through to the 1980s when he finally stopped painting.
His subjects included post-war London, his friends and contemporaries, and even abstract subjects such as a slab of meat. He has become known to be one of the best painters of all time and most important British cultural figures.
Three Studies of Lucian Freud is one of the most famous pieces by Bacon. Over 20 years after his death, in 2013, the work sold at auction for $142.4 million, the highest price ever paid for a piece of art at the time.
Lucian Freud
A British painter who was close friends with Francis Bacon (the two painted each other at times in their lives).
Freud was born in Berlin, but moved to England as a child and became a citizen in 1939. It is also in England that he learned his artistic skills, partially through attending Goldsmiths College in London.
After a time in the Merchant Navy, Freud became a popular artist with many surrealist works, and many of his paintings were inspired by close friends and family. His work has been described as unsettling and many of his most famous paintings
According to the Tate Gallery, “the works are noted for their psychological penetration and often discomforting examination of the relationship between artist and model. Freud worked from life studies, and was known for asking for extended and punishing sittings from his models.”
Freud’s work was celebrated in a 2022 exhibition at the National Gallery, one of the top UK art museums. His paintings have regularly sold for millions in auctions and he is renowned as one of the most popular and famous portrait painters of his time.
John Constable
Constable is one of the most famous painters of the 19th century, studying from the year 1800 and exhibiting his work from 1802 onwards.
John Constable’s work is largely based around the beautiful English countryside, namely in Suffolk, where he was born. His studies were very brief and many describe Constable as a “self-taught” artist. Inspiration for anybody who is getting started on their art journey.
Constable’s work is extremely popular and defining of its era. He was largely influenced by French Romantics and worked at a similar time to Thomas Gainsborough who was also very well-known for landscapes of the UK.
The Hay Wain is one of the most iconic paintings in British history.
“Although the painting evokes a Suffolk scene, it was created in the artist’s studio in London. Working from a number of open-air sketches made over several years, Constable then made a full-size preparatory oil sketch to establish the composition before painting the final picture.”
The National Gallery
Banksy
Undeniably one of the most famous contemporary British artists, Banksy is also a sign of how things have changed. Constable could probably never have imagined graffiti or street art to have been met with so much acclaim, or to be some of the most valuable work of its time.
Banksy’s work started in the 1990s, as part of a little-known graffiti crew, Bristol's DryBreadZ Crew (DBZ), along with two other artists known as Kato and Tes.
The work of Banksy is often defined by the political nature and the fact that it pops up overnight as the artist visits British towns and cities and leaves his mark.
In 2010, having reached a point of notoriety in spite of nobody knowing Banksy’s identity, he was named in the Times list of 100 most influential people, a list that included the U.S. president at the time, Barack Obama.
As well as artwork that has sold for eye-watering sums, the British artist has also helped to create the film Exit Through the Gift Shop, which was even nominated for an Academy Award. One of the most famous British artists of the 21st century, and nobody even knows who they are.
Banksy has become a cultural phenomenon and a figure of pop culture all over the world, with work reproduced in homes all over the world, and people flocking from all kinds of destinations to see the work.
J.M.W. Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner, often referred to as the "painter of light," was one of Britain's most famous landscape artists. Born in 1775, Turner revolutionised landscape painting with his expressive colour palette and innovative use of light and atmosphere.
Turner's works, such as The Fighting Temeraire and Rain, Steam, and Speed, showcase his mastery in capturing the sublime power of nature. Turner's influence extends beyond Romanticism, laying the groundwork for Impressionism and other modern art movements.
Turner’s work was groundbreaking not only in his use of colour and light but also in his willingness to push the boundaries of traditional landscape painting. His later works, which often bordered on abstraction, were ahead of their time and paved the way for future movements in art.
Turner's influence can be seen in the works of the Impressionists and even modern artists today. His ability to convey emotion through natural scenes remains unparalleled, cementing his legacy as one of Britain’s greatest artists.
L.S. Lowry
Another iconic British painter is L.S. Lowry. His work gave us a fascinating insight into the 20th century of Britain, especially in the industrial North West.
He was born in 1887 and was part of a middle-class Manchester family. He did, however, have to go to work at the age of 16 working in an accountancy firm.
Lowry worked throughout his life as a rent collector, even though he achieved success with his art.
Though there is a myth that he is self-taught, he actually took evening classes in painting and drawing, attending the Salford School of Art and the Municipal College of Art, where he studied under a masterful French Impressionist Adolphe Valette.
Lowry once claimed to only use five colours in his paintings. He was known for busy scenes and landscapes and certainly had a distinctive style.
Barbara Hepworth
Barbara Hepworth, born in 1903, was a pioneering British sculptor whose work helped to define modernism in the 20th century. Known for her abstract, organic forms, Hepworth’s sculptures often explore themes of nature, the human figure, and spatial relationships.
Her work Pelagos and Single Form are celebrated for their fluidity and the way they interact with space. Hepworth's legacy is marked by her innovative approach to materials and form, making her a key figure in British art history.
Hepworth’s work was not only innovative in form but also in the way it integrated with its environment. Many of her sculptures were designed to be placed outdoors, interacting with the landscape and elements like light and shadow.
Her approach to sculpture as something that should engage with its surroundings rather than dominate them was revolutionary. Hepworth’s legacy lives on in the many public sculptures she left behind, which continue to inspire viewers with their elegance and harmony.
Damien Hirst
Hirst is another artist that divides opinion. He has come in for criticism in some areas of the art world but his success cannot be denied. His work has include a skull made of diamonds and a Great White shark encased in a translucent tank filled with the preservative formaldehyde.
Jonathan Jones in the Guardian once said of Hirst:
“Damien Hirst's paintings are talentless and phoney as hell. Hirst is the fake. His efforts to do "proper" paintings have revealed his total lack of artistic accomplishment. This exposure of his fundamental inability means that it is impossible to take him seriously any more, especially as a painter. While the best of his early animal vitrines have some kind of place in art history, his paintings – spin, spot or realist – are cynical stunts by a man who cannot actually paint. So how on earth can they be of value and why should it be a big deal to fake them?”
Fair to say that his work divides opinion, but Hirst is one of the wealthiest and most successful artists of his time.
David Hockney
David Hockney, born in 1937, is one of the most influential British contemporary artists, celebrated for his vibrant contributions to the Pop Art movement. His works often explore themes of perception and representation, blending traditional techniques with modern technology. Iconic pieces like A Bigger Splash and Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) exemplify his exploration of colour, light, and perspective. Hockney's career has spanned decades, and he continues to innovate, particularly with his use of digital media.
Hockney's exploration of perspective didn't stop with traditional media; he is also renowned for his experiments with photography, such as in his "joiners" series, where he pieced together multiple Polaroid shots to create a single image.
In recent years, Hockney has embraced digital technology, creating vibrant works on iPads that continue to push the boundaries of visual art. His continuous innovation and adaptability make him a central figure in both the history and future of British art.
Tracey Emin
Another modern art phenomenon, Tracey Emin’s work includes drawing, photos, sculpture and painting among other mediums.
She had been described as the "enfant terrible" of the Young British Artists in the 1980s, but has since been rewarded with a CBE and has been exhibited at many different exhibitions since she had her first solo exhibition at the United States at Lehmann Maupin Gallery, which was called Every Part of Me's Bleeding.
Her controversial 1999 work My Bed sold for over £2 million at auction, but was known for its controversial subject, another piece of art that divided opinions. Emin has been nominated for a Turner Prize, and continues to create and exhibit work today.
Beyond her installations and sculptures, Emin is also known for her works on paper, particularly her raw and expressive drawings that often explore themes of vulnerability and female experience.
Emin's work is deeply personal, and she often uses it as a form of self-exploration and catharsis. Her boldness in addressing taboo subjects has inspired a generation of artists to explore their own personal narratives, making her a significant figure in contemporary art.
Rachel Whiteread
Rachel Whiteread, born in 1963, is an acclaimed British sculptor and one of the most prominent members of the Young British Artists (YBA) group. Whiteread is known for her large-scale sculptures that cast the negative space of objects, such as her Turner Prize-winning piece House, which was a concrete cast of the interior of a Victorian terraced house. Her work often explores memory, loss, and the traces of human presence, using materials like plaster, resin, and concrete to give form to the invisible.
Whiteread’s work challenges viewers to think about space and absence in new ways, often evoking a sense of melancholy or nostalgia. Her ability to transform the everyday into something profound is what sets her apart from her contemporaries.
Whiteread's work also speaks to broader themes of memory and the passage of time, making it deeply resonant on both a personal and universal level. Her innovative approach to sculpture has earned her critical acclaim and a lasting place in the history of contemporary art.
Conclusion
The artists on this list are just a starting point for you to explore. There are hundreds of amazing, talented and famous British artists that are exhibited in some of the UK’s top art galleries and museums.
Art is always subjective, of course, and not all of the professionals on this list will be to your taste, but there are bound to be some paintings and artworks to get you inspired.
Who do you think is the most influential British artist?
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