Derrick Greaves first rose to prominence in the 1950s, representing Britain at the Venice Biennale alongside John Bratby, Jack Smith and Edward Middleditch. These four artists came to be known as the Beaux Arts Gallery Quartet, or the Kitchen Sink painters, as they celebrated ordinary people living everyday lives and aimed to emphasise the social history of post-war Britain. This style was linked to Pop Art, Socialist Realism, and post-war existentialist painting. However, as this style faded in the early 1960s, Greaves’ work shifted away from nature and observation towards a more heraldic, pop-influenced style. Over the 1960s and 70s he developed a pared down and subtle, yet highly precise manner of working characterised by clear lines and flat areas of colour, which Mark Glazebrook described as ‘Pop-Classical’.

Greaves was Head of Printmaking at Norwich School of Art from 1983 to 1991 and currently lives and works in Norfolk. His work is held in numerous British and international collections, including the British Museum Collection, Tate Gallery, Government Art Collection, Johannesburg Public Gallery, Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, New York Public Library, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Public Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia.

Recent solo exhibitions of his work include Derrick Greaves: Art Worlds, Graves Gallery, Sheffield (2025), Derrick Greaves: Chroma, James Hyman Gallery, London (2025), and Derrick Greaves: A Celebration, Mandell’s Gallery, Norfolk (2023).   Recent group exhibitions include British Art: Convergences, Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal (2025) and From the Vault: Selections of Works on Paper from GRAM’s Collection, Grand Rapids Art Museum, Michigan, USA (2025).