British Art 1950 - 1975 Tour

After working as a carpenter and joiner (1944–6) and serving in the Royal Air Force (1946–9), Tilson studied in London at St Martin's School of Art (1949–52) and the Royal College of Art (1952–5).

He responded to the emergence of Pop Art in the work of Peter Phillips and other young students at the Royal College of Art attending in the early 1960s.

Although much of Tilson's 3D work in the 1960s retained a handmade look,(relating to his earlier training as a carpenter), by the mid-1960s he was making creative use of new technology, notably in his collage-based screen prints composed from recycled photographic and printed imagery.

Lufbery & Rickenbacker print was Tilson’s first major collaboration with Chris Prater at the Kelpra Studios. It features photographs of heroic pilots from the First World War combined with American ‘hot-rod’ car insignia.