Laing was born in Newcastle and served in the army before changing career to study at Saint Martin’s School of Art in London. In the 1960s he moved to New York, where he became part of the Pop Art movement alongside artists including Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol. Laing’s silkscreen prints of celebrities, girls, cars and astronauts show the influence of American Pop themes. Baby Baby Wild Things was a popular all-girl rock group of the period.

This portfolio was issued in an edition of 200, but sets including the Brigitte Bardot print are rare (it was often removed and sold separately). This example includes the original pink velour case with blue ties in which it came.

Soon after these prints were made, Laing abandoned Pop Art in favour of Minimalism, only returning to Pop much later on in his career. The portfolio now joins Pallant House Gallery’s rich collection of British Pop Art, including work by Peter Blake and Richard Hamilton.

Provenance

The portfolio had been with the original publisher, Richard Feigen Graphics, since it was made in 1968. It was then purchased by Lyndsey Ingram Gallery and imported to the UK in June 2017.