1970s Art: Top Artists, Styles And Trends

Conceptual art, punk graphics and the brown-and-orange decade at home.

Below: the artists of the 1970s, the styles and movements, what was changing in art and design, and the pictures that were actually up in British homes.

Useful for a themed party, a quiz round, a reminiscence session or working out what someone grew up looking at.

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Shop prints and posters Look back to 1970 Look back to 1971 Look back to 1972

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Artists of the 1970s

  • Gilbert and George, living sculptures.
  • David Hockney, at the height of the pool paintings.
  • Jamie Reid, whose ransom-note Sex Pistols artwork defined punk.
  • Roger Dean, painting the fantasy album sleeves for Yes.
  • Hipgnosis, the design studio behind Dark Side of the Moon (1973).
  • Carl Andre, whose Equivalent VIII bricks caused a tabloid row in 1976.

Styles and movements

  • Conceptual art, land art and performance - the object stops being the point.
  • Punk graphics: photocopiers, cut-up type, deliberate ugliness.
  • Photorealism, as a reaction to all of the above.
  • Seventies decor: brown, orange, avocado, and a lot of pattern.
  • The gatefold sleeve as a canvas for an illustrator.

Art and design trends

  • The Tate bricks row in 1976 becomes the decade's standing argument about modern art.
  • Punk makes design something you could do yourself with scissors and a photocopier.
  • Feminist art history begins reclaiming artists the textbooks had dropped.
  • Graphic design goes freelance, driven by records, magazines and the music press.
  • Public art in new towns and shopping precincts, mostly concrete.

On the walls at home

  • Athena posters - the tennis girl arrived in 1976.
  • Woodchip, artex swirls and a brown three-piece suite.
  • Gatefold sleeves left out on the floor.
  • Macrame, pampas grass and a wall-mounted decorative plate.

Years covered in the 1970s

  • 1970 - England defended the World Cup, the Beatles ended and eighteen-year-olds got the vote. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1970
  • 1971 - Decimal Day, the first Glastonbury as we know it and Slade on the way up. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1971
  • 1972 - Miners' strikes and power cuts, Ziggy Stardust and a very good year for glam. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1972
  • 1973 - Britain joined the EEC, the oil crisis hit and Slade wrote Christmas. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1973
  • 1974 - Two general elections, the three-day week and Abba winning Eurovision. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1974
  • 1975 - Bohemian Rhapsody, the EEC referendum and Fawlty Towers. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1975
  • 1976 - The heatwave, the drought and the first stirrings of punk. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1976
  • 1977 - Silver Jubilee street parties, Star Wars and the summer punk went overground. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1977
  • 1978 - Grease, the first test-tube baby and the start of the winter of discontent. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1978
  • 1979 - The winter of discontent, the first woman Prime Minister and the last year of the seventies. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1979
  • That is every 1970s year we have written up so far: 1970 to 1979.

How to use this

  • Themed party: pick one style from the list and let it decide the colours, the lettering and the invitations.
  • Quiz round: read an artist and ask for the decade, or read a style and ask for one artist who worked in it.
  • Reminiscence: ask what picture hung over the fireplace when they were young. Nearly everybody remembers.
  • Anyone born in 1970 turns 50 in 2020, 60 in 2030 and 70 in 2040.

Shop prints and posters

Found your words? Now find the card

Shop prints and posters Look back to 1970 Look back to 1971 Look back to 1972

How to write it so it lands

  • What hung in galleries and what hung at home were two different decades. Both are on this page.
  • For a themed party, take the colour palette from the decade's design rather than its paintings.
  • Charity shops are still the best place to find genuine prints and frames from any era.

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Frequently asked questions

Who were the most important artists of the 1970s?

Gilbert and George, living sculptures. The full list above names the artists worth knowing from the decade.

What art styles were popular in the 1970s?

Conceptual art, land art and performance - the object stops being the point. The styles section above covers the rest of the movements.

What art did people have in their homes in the 1970s?

Athena posters - the tennis girl arrived in 1976. The section above lists what was actually on British walls, which is rarely the same as what was in the galleries.

Do you sell fine art?

No. We make our own art prints, greeting cards and pin badges in the UK - original work, printed here. This page is free to read and free to copy.

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