Eduardo Paolozzi was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1924. Because his parents were Italian immigrants, Paolozzi was forced into Saughton prison in Edinburgh in 1940. Upon release he studied at the Edinburgh College of Art before moving to London to finish his education. It was during his time spent living in Paris from 1947-1949 that Paolozzi met artists Alberto Giacometti, Jean Arp, Constantin Brancusi, and Georges Braque.

After moving back to London, Paolozzi began working in his studio with a variety of found objects producing surrealist collages. He founded the Independent Group in 1952, which is viewed by many to be the precursor to the British and American Pop Art movements of the 1950s and 60s. In the 1960s, Paolozzi produced graphic silkscreens incorporating imagery from popular and consumer culture. He worked mainly in abstract relief in the decades following. His works began to incorporate more figuration and a monochromatic color palate. 

In 1989, Paolozzi was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. After his death in 2005, a major retrospective of his work, titled Eduardo Paolozzi: Collaging Culture (6 July – 13 October 2013) was held a Pallant House Gallery in Chichester, West Sussex, England.