Tom Hunter

Tom Hunter (born 1965) is a London-based British artist working in photography and film. His photographs often reference and reimagine classical paintings. He was the first photographer to have a one-man show at the National Gallery, London.

Hunter has shown work internationally in exhibitions, his work is held in a number of public collections and he has had four books published. He has won various awards including an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society.

Life and work Hunter was born in Bournemouth, UK. He studied at the London College of Printing and gained an MA from the Royal College of Art in London. For instance, his photograph of a squatter, Woman Reading a Possession Order, references Johannes Vermeer's Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window. Of the photograph, which was shot with a large-format camera and printed using the Ilfochrome process, Hunter said:

I just wanted to take a picture showing the dignity of squatter life – a piece of propaganda to save my neighbourhood....The great thing is, the picture got a dialogue going with the council – and we managed to save the houses.

He works at the Photography and the Archive Research Centre in London.

In 2019 Hunter showed a series of photographs at Hastings Museum and Art Gallery, of taxi drivers from various other countries that had made Hastings their home, along with works from the museum's collection.

Books Factory Built Homes: Holly Street Estate 1968-1998. Holly Street Public Arts Trust, 1998. . Tom Hunter. Ostfildern, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2003. . Edited by White Cube, texts by Michael Bracewell and Paul Shepheard, essays by Jean Wainwright. Tom Hunter: Living in Hell and Other Stories. Newhaven, CT: Yale University Press; London: National Gallery, 2005. . The Way Home. Ostfildern, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2012. . Le Crowbar. Stockport: Here Press, 2013. . Edition of 1000 copies.

Exhibitions Living in Hell and Other Stories, National Gallery, London. A Journey Home, Hastings Museum and Art Gallery, Hastings, UK, February–June 2019. Smithsonian Institution Victoria and Albert Museum Moderna Museet Los Angeles County Museum of Art