Michael Craig-Martin
The conceptual artist and Goldsmiths professor whose intellectual clarity and mentorship helped ignite the explosive, rule-breaking Young British Artists movement.
Born 1941 (age 85)·Irish contemporary conceptual artist and painter·Birthday: August 28·The Silent Generation
Biography
Michael Craig-Martin's clean, diagrammatic art belies his profound influence on the messy, sensational world of contemporary British art. Born in Dublin and raised in the United States, he brought a transatlantic perspective to a London scene he would help transform. As a teacher at Goldsmiths College in the 1980s, his rigorous conceptual framework—emphasizing the idea over craft—provided a liberating toolkit for a generation that included Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas. His own work, like the seminal 'An Oak Tree' (1973), a glass of water he declared to be a fully transformed oak, played with perception and language with witty precision. Later, he developed a signature style of bold, outlined drawings of everyday objects, rendered in vivid colors, which he scaled up into immense wall paintings and installations. More than just a practitioner, Craig-Martin acted as a critical bridge, translating conceptual art's heady theories into a generative practice that empowered his students to challenge the art establishment and achieve global fame.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Michael was born in 1941, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Michael Was Born
The biggest hits of 1941
#1 Movie
Sergeant York
Best Picture
How Green Was My Valley
Michael's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1941Born
Pearl Harbor attack brings the US into WWII
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,060Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Chattanooga Choo Choo" — Glenn MillerBest Picture: How Green Was My Valley
1946Started school
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1954Became a teenager
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1957Could drive
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1959Could vote
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1962Turned 21
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1971Turned 30
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1981Turned 40
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1991Turned 50
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
2001Turned 60
September 11 attacks transform the world
Gas: $1.46/galHome: $126,400Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Hanging by a Moment" — LifehouseBest Picture: A Beautiful Mind
2011Turned 70
Osama bin Laden killed; Arab Spring sweeps the Middle East
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $138,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Rolling in the Deep" — AdeleBest Picture: The Artist
2021Turned 80
January 6 Capitol breach; COVID vaccines roll out globally
Gas: $3.01/galHome: $298,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Levitating" — Dua LipaBest Picture: CODA
2026Age 85 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Created the influential conceptual work 'An Oak Tree' (1973), a foundational piece in conceptual art that questions representation and belief.
- As a professor at Goldsmiths, he was a key mentor to the generation that became known as the Young British Artists (YBAs).
- Developed a widely recognized visual language of brightly colored, outlined drawings of common objects, applied to large-scale installations.
- Was knighted in 2016 for his services to contemporary art.
Did You Know?
His work 'An Oak Tree' was included in a 1974 exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York while he was still relatively unknown.
He designed the cover for the band Slowdive's 1995 album 'Pygmalion.'
He initially studied painting at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris before focusing on conceptual work.
“The artist's greatest resource is their attitude.”
