The Beatles, 1968

The relationships between art, design and popular culture ran through much of Richard Hamilton’s work. His collaboration with The Beatles is one such example. Commissioned by Paul McCartney in 1968, the group’s ninth album became commonly known as The White Album after Hamilton opted for a plain white sleeve without any external images, but with the name of the group – embossed for the first edition – and a printed serial number, as if it were a limited-edition graphic. He also decided that the record would be removed from the top, an unusual design innovation for the time. In addition to the white gatefold sleeve, Hamilton also designed a poster as an insert. This had an initial print run of five million, and consisted of a collection of photographs of the four Beatles montaged on a white ground.