From album covers for The Who and Frank Zappa to illustrations for children’s novels, Ralph Steadman has created a vast and varied collection of artwork.

Now, some of the Kent artist’s most exciting and definitive pieces are on display in INKling, his first UK exhibition in 10 years, housed at the Historic Dockyard Chatham.

I visited the limited exhibition ahead of its official opening today (September 21) to admire six incredible decades of artwork.

Ralph’s daughter, Sadie Williams, who has curated the show, kindly showed me around and gave me a fascinating insight into each of the collections on display.

Since the 1970s, Ralph has worked with Gonzo journalist Hunter S Thompson and some of his most recognisable pieces from their collaboration, including Vintage Dr Gonzo and Gonzo Guernica, are featured on a beautiful sky-blue wall with desert-themed décor.

Ralph, who now lives in Loose, has also produced award-winning illustrations for George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island.

“I am quite amazed at how many things I was able to do,” the artist reflects. “Have I really been doing children's illustrations for that long - 60 years? I think that will surprise people. I like the joy children can find in a simple situation. They see the fun.”

Work from Ralph’s partnership with filmmaker and conservationist Ceri Levi, which boasts more than 300 original pieces, and a curated collection of 15 works from his 1988 Picasso-inspired project are also on display.

In fact, to show where the artist got some of his inspiration, there are also two original Picasso pieces on the wall as you enter the exhibition - the first time the Cubist pioneer has been on display in Chatham.

“They chose us,” says the 88-year-old, speaking of his decision to hold the display at the Dockyard. “[Collections Manager] Nick Ball approached us and asked if we would like to curate an exhibition. My daughter, Sadie, decided she was up for the challenge and this is what she has put together.

“She is pretty damn busy on my behalf. She is amazing. She really loves it and through her I remember so many things I had forgotten. No doubts or worries, she just gets on with it.”

The ground-breaking exhibition is open until Sunday, November 17. Here’s five highlights from my visit that are worth checking out…

RALPH’S STUDIO

The stunning centrepiece of the exhibition is a recreation of Ralph’s art studio.

Sadie and her husband, who both have a background in theatre, made the replica desk themselves and covered it with paint splatters. On top of the desk are even real paint pots that Sadie squirrelled away from her dad’s studio, along with photos of Ralph with Hunter S Thompson and Johnny Depp.

Visitors can take a photo with a cardboard cutout of Ralph and hear mutterings from the artist, recorded from his studio, played over the speakers. There’s also blank paper for children to create their own illustrations at the desk.

“I just felt like we needed a bit of a wow factor,” says Sadie. “Because it’s the Dockyard and it’s not purely a gallery space, it’s a tourist attraction, I thought we do have to find something that will make this memorable beyond the art, which obviously is beautiful. But that’s where you’ll get the selfie.”

TREASURE ISLAND

Ralph has illustrated countless books over the years and the beauty of this exhibition is seeing the drawings blown up to a much larger scale than you’d find in the pages of a novel.

The pieces from Treasure Island have been chosen specifically for this display, given the story’s swashbuckling characters and links to the attraction’s maritime history.

Sadie felt that Treasure Island tied in nicely with the Dockyard - and it’s one of Ralph’s favourites from the exhibition.

“I like the images from Treasure Island,” says the award-winning artist. “It was an exciting book to do. I liked the subject matter, I enjoyed creating all the characters like Long John Silver and Jim.”

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

One of my favourite collections was from another classic novel, Alice in Wonderland, and its sequel, Alice Through the Looking Glass.

These stark black-and-white pieces are notably different from the colourful sketches on either side of them, making them particularly eye-catching as you stroll through the space.

“He was very influenced by the things he saw around him in 1960s London,” explains Sadie. “These elements crept into his retelling of the Alice stories that everyone thinks they know so much about.”

You can spot the influences from the decade - the chair on which Alice is sitting was taken from the Steadman’s London household at the time; the Mad Hatter is depicted as a Mod-esque character; and the White Rabbit is wearing a London commuter’s tie.

THE CHILDREN’S WALL

This bold and colourful space takes up the entire back wall of the gallery and maps out a series of Steadman’s children’s illustrations from 1963 to 2023.

It starts with Approximate Addler and takes visitors all the way through the alphabet, mapping out a literal A-Z of the artist’s work and how his techniques have changed over the years.

“When you get to the 1980s, you can see how much looser it becomes and how it’s much more what you would expect Steadman to be,” says Sadie, pointing out the middle section of the wall. “But I wanted the earlier pieces to be in it because I think they are such a surprise.”

This section was designed specifically with younger visitors in mind. The pieces all hang lower down, so it’s easier for children to see them, and there’s also an interactive screen, map and binoculars to help kids find out more about each illustration.

THE GONZO WALL

“I just thought, I know what people want to see - they want to see the Gonzo stuff, so it was really important to get that included,” says Sadie. “And it was just fun to be able to present it in an energetic way with the bats and the landscape.”

Sadie is right - this is the work most typically associated with Ralph and is sure to be a hit with fans. The Spirit of Gonzo hangs proudly in the middle of the wall, with other works, including sketches from 1971’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, also on display.

Something worth taking a closer look at in this section is the Memorial Hunter S Thompson Print from 2005. This piece was produced to help raise funds to fulfil Hunter’s last wish of having his ashes blasted into space and is signed by some of the journalist's celebrity friends, including Bill Murray and Johnny Depp.