Paula Rego
Paula Rego was born in Portugal but moved to London at the age of 16. She studied at the Slade School of Art (1952–56) in London, where she met fellow artist and husband of 30 years, Victor Willing. She is especially known for her paintings based on folktales and myths, seeing storytelling as ‘a vehicle for exploring the essence of human relationships’. Many of her works draw on childhood memories of living under the dictatorship of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar with his repressive Catholic regime (1932–68). Rego also used her work to express her frustration with the slow political progress for women, particularly in relation to abortion rights and the Portuguese public’s failure to successfully vote it into law. The First Associate Artist at the National Gallery (1990) and Dame of the British Empire (2010), she has been the subject of many exhibitions across the world, with a dedicated museum in Cascais, Portugal.
Further Reading
Crippa, Elena. Paula Rego. London: Tate Publishing, 2021.
Paula Rego: Nursery Rhymes. London: Marlborough Graphics, 1989. Exhibition catalogue. Introduction by Marina Warner.
Rosenthal, T.G. Paula Rego: The Complete Graphic Work. London: Thames and Hudson, 2003.
Selected Collections
British Museum
Leeds Art Gallery
Leicester Museum & Art Gallery
