Jamie Reid: Legendary artist and graphic designer passes away at 76; a look at his career

British artist and graphic designer Jamie Reid, famous for his artwork for the Sex Pistols rock band, passed away on August 8, 2023. He was 76.

Reid’s gallerist John Marchant confirmed his death with a statement that read: "We sadly announce the passing of Jamie MacGregor Reid 16 January 1947 - 8 August 2023. Artist, iconoclast, anarchist, punk, hippie, rebel and romantic. Jamie leaves behind a beloved daughter Rowan, a granddaughter Rose, and an enormous legacy."

Here’s a look at the artistic career of Jamie Reid.

Jamie Reid was born in London on January 16, 1947. He began studying art at the Wimbledon Art School at 16, and later at the Croydon Art School. It was at Croydon that he met Malcolm McLaren, who would go on to be the manager of the rock band Sex Pistols.

Here are some of Jamie Reid’s cover designs of Sex Pistols releases, including the controversial Queen Elizabeth II cover.

Jamie Reid’s best cover designs of Sex Pistols were the following albums and releases were:

The pink and yellow text of their one and only album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols.

Jamie Reid’s controversial use of the Cecil Beaton photo portrait of Queen Elizabeth II for the song (not the anthem) God Save the Queen. Jamie Reid’s work included alternative designs for singles – like the one for God Save the Queen with a safety pin through the Queen’s lips and Swastikas for her eyes.

An empty picture frame, in smithereens, for Pretty Vacant. He also created an alternative French-market cover for the song that showed buses with the destinations marked as Nowhere and Boredom.

Another single’s cover, Holidays in the Sun that had a doctored comic strip.

Reid’s poster for the single Anarchy in the UK that had a torn Union Jack.

The punk artists also had the opportunity to create for the Sex Pistols’ mockumentary film directed by Julien Temple, titled The Great Rock’n’Roll Swindle.

Jamie Reid looked to alternative politics and current affairs of the late 1960s for inspiration.

He was the graphic designer for the 1974 book ‘Leaving the 20th Century: The Incomplete Work of the Situationist International’. The book was a compilation of translated texts by French situationist writers.

Reid himself described his work as a blend of “gnosticism and dissent”, and also spirituality.

Jamie Reid’s work is regarded and on display at institutions such as the Tate Britain, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Museum of Fine Art in Houston.

Jamie Reid also created a number of abstract paintings.

FAQs

Q1:What happened to Jamie Reid?
Punk artist Jamie Reid, designer for the record covers of rock band Sex Pistols, passed away on August 8, 2023. His cause of death was not revealed.

Q2:Did Jamie Reid do a Donald Trump painting?
In 2017, Jamie Reid created a version of his controversial Queen Elizabeth II artwork for the single (not the anthem) God Save the Queen, with Donald Trump, and titled it God Save Us All.