Joseph Mellor Hanson: A Life in Modernist Abstraction Early Life and Education Joseph Mellor Hanson (1900-1963) was a British-born modernist painter who dedicated his artistic career to exploring figure painting through an increasingly abstract lens. He was born on the family farm in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, and began demonstrating an interest in art at a young age. At fifteen, he commenced studying art, attending evening drawing classes to prepare for admission to Halifax Technical College. Hanson’s talent earned him a Mcrae scholarship at nineteen, which supported his continu…