Paula Rego: Nursery Rhymes

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Rego was born on 26 January 1935 in Lisbon, Portugal. [2] Her father was an electrical engineer who worked for the Marconi Company and was ardently anti-fascist. [3] [4] Her mother was a competent artist but, as a conventional Portuguese woman from the early 20th century, gave her daughter no encouragement towards a career, even though she began drawing at age 4. [5] The family was divided in 1936 when her father was posted to work in the United Kingdom. Rego's parents left her behind in Portugal in the care of her grandmother until 1939. Rego's grandmother was to become a significant figure in her life, as she learned from her grandmother and the family maid many of the traditional folktales that would one day make their way into her art work. [6]

Though titled The Dance, there is much more going on in this picture than a simple celebratory act. Rego depicts two dancing couples, a dancing trio, and a much larger single figure to the side. The people do not necessarily look like they are at the same party, let alone dancing to the same music. The couples seem mostly entwined, particularly the couple to the left of centre, dancing tightly together. The trio represents a profound illustration on the passing of time; a grandmother, mother, and daughter move gracefully together through the cycle of life. Indeed, there is a poignant comparison to be made with this painting and that of the Dance of Life, made by Edvard Munch in 1899. Like the Norwegian Expressionist, Rego too is interested in how human behaviour changes according to whether we are alone, in a couple, or part of a group. She also shares with Munch an interest in the passing from the state of innocence to experience, and in this particular case, to setting a scene at night, the prime time for unconscious musings. Retrospective Exhibition, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington Nursery rhymes are traditional rhymes passed on to children by adults. The first known book of rhymes was published around 1744. Many have sought to find hidden meanings or references to political satire within the verse but most are simply nonsensical rhymes that delight and amuse small children. Little Miss Muffet, sat on a tuffet,

This work is illustrated in 'Nursery Rhymes' by Paula Rego, Thames & Hudson and the Folio Society, 1994.

Maria Manuel Lisboa, "Paula Rego's Map of Memory: National and Sexual Politics" (London: Ashgate, 2003) Curator's comments Edition of 50 with 14 artist's proofs and 5 hors commerce copies, 3 handcoloured by Charlotte Hodes. Proofed and editioned by Paul Coldwell at Culford Press, London. Nursery rhymes are traditional rhymes passed on to children by adults. The first known book of rhymes was published around 1744. Many have sought to find hidden meanings or references to political satire within the verse but most are simply nonsensical rhymes that delight and amuse small children. There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.

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For now she has put away the folk tales that informed her work, and finds herself "drawing the Virgin Mary over and over", a theme she explored at length for Life Cycle of the Virgin Mary, including Descent from the Cross, another work said to have been inspired by Vic's death. Which of her works is she proudest of? Michalska, Magda (10 February 2018). "Story Within A Story In Paula Rego's World". DailyArtMagazine.com – Art History Stories . Retrieved 4 June 2020. Rosenthal, T. G. (2012). Paula Rego: the complete graphic work. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-09368-9. OCLC 776773689.

Rego's first award was a bursary from the Gulbenkian Foundation of Lisbon in 1962–63, [8] an organisation that later held a retrospective solo exhibition of her work in 1988. [62] In this striking painting, a young woman sits on a chair and polishes a brown boot. The boot looks to be part of the uniform of the military police of Salazar's Portugal. During the regime, Salazar maintained control of the country through the use of secret police, as well as police informers. Portuguese citizens lived in fear that their friends or neighbours would report them for dissident acts and that they would be taken away. Though this young woman may only be polishing the boot, this painting asks questions about collaboration - do we see her as equally to blame in her father's actions? Can she too be held responsible for crimes against humanity? Ruth Rosengarten, 'Home Truths: The Work of Paula Rego', in Tate Gallery, Paula Rego (London: Tate Publishing, 1997) p.75 Paula Rego: The Dancing Ostriches from Disney's Fantasia, Marlborough Fine Art, London and Saatchi Collection, London. Introduction by Sarah Kent, essay by John McEwen (1996) [8] She further went on to receive honorary degrees: a Master of Arts from the Winchester School of Art in 1992, Doctorate of Letters from the University of St Andrews and the University of East Anglia, both in 1999, [8] the Rhode Island School of Design in 2000, the London Institute in 2002, and the University of Oxford and Roehampton University in 2005. In 2011 she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Lisbon and in 2013 she was elected Honorary Fellow of Murray Edwards College, Cambridge, receiving an honorary doctorate of letters from the University of Cambridge in 2015. [2]Judith Collins, 'Paula Rego's Drawings', in Tate Gallery, Paula Rego (London: Tate Publishing, 1997) p.121f In 1951, Rego was sent to the United Kingdom to attend a finishing school called The Grove School, in Sevenoaks, Kent. Unhappy there, Rego attempted in 1952 to start studies in art at the Chelsea School of Art in London, but was advised against this choice by her legal guardian in Britain, David Phillips, who had heard that a young woman had become pregnant while a student there. He suggested to her parents that the Slade School of Fine Art was a more respectable choice and helped her achieve a place there. From 1952 to 1956, she attended the Slade School. [8] The Nursery Rhymesderived from drawings Paula Rego made for her granddaughter Carmen for her second birthday. She drew those rhymes that Carmen knew, and these drawings, in ink and wash, were much simpler than the prints. The artist worked directly on the plates, and it is a measure of her draughtmanship that few had to be written off. The printing was undertaken by Paul Coldwell, himself an artist, at the Culford Press. He described the experience as a joy ‘because her images are so strongly drawn. At various points in the making of a print she insists on looking at it from a distance. Most artists work with the print under their noses, and only see at the private view that the image is unreadable at anything over six inches.’ The artist had wanted the prints to be strong and direct and wanted them to work, as she said, ‘biff-bang’. Maria Manuel Lisboa, Paula Rego’s Map of Memory: National and Sexual Politics, Ashgate Publishing Ltd., Hampshire (2003) [8] Gopnik, Blake. "Paula Rego: National Museum of Women in the Arts". ARTFORUM . Retrieved 9 June 2022.

She died after a short illness on 8 June 2022 at the age of 87 and was buried with Victor Willing in Hampstead Cemetery. [44] Style and influences [ edit ] I think the Children’s Crusade series [which includes both Lost Girl and Execution] is very beautiful; the prints are all hand-coloured like old Victorian children’s illustrations. Lost Girl is quite rare in terms of her overall work, because it is predominantly dry point [drawing directly on a coated metal plate with a needle]. Victor Willing, 'The Imagiconography of Paula Rego', in Tate Gallery, Paula Rego (London: Tate Publishing, 1997) p.37 Between 1986 and 1988, Rego completed a group of large paintings in acrylic, which are brought together in this room. In 1988, they were displayed in solo exhibitions in Lisbon and Porto, Portugal, and at the Serpentine Gallery, London. The shows cemented Rego’s reputation as a leading contemporary painter. At the time, she had not yet completed The Dance, so could not include it as she had hoped. The work features here in the way the artist intended, as the culmination of this body of work. The series was born from my indignation… It is unbelievable that women who have an abortion should be considered criminals. It reminds me of the past… I cannot abide the idea of blame in relation to this act. What each woman suffers in having to do it is enough. But all this stems from Portugal's totalitarian past, from women dressed up in aprons, baking cakes like good housewives. In democratic Portugal today there is still a subtle form of oppression… The question of abortion is part of all that violent context." [37]Dame Maria Paula Figueiroa Rego DBE RA GCSE GOSE GColCa ( Portuguese: [ˈpawlɐ ˈʁeɣu]: 26 January 1935 – 8 June 2022) was a Portuguese-British visual artist, widely considered the pre-eminent woman artist of the late 20th and early 21st century, known particularly for her paintings and prints based on storybooks. https://www.ft.com/content/a919f12e-79d6-4de7-84a1-a2f164d614bc Rego's style evolved from abstract towards representational, and she favoured pastels over oils for much of her career. Her work often reflects feminism, coloured by folk-themes from her native Portugal, Other exhibitions included a retrospective at Tate Liverpool in 1997, Dulwich Picture Gallery in 1998, Tate Britain in 2005, and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery in 2007. A major retrospective of her work was held at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid in 2007, which travelled to the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., the following year. [21] Sibley, Gail (27 November 2013). "Paula Rego, "Swallows the Poisoned Apple," 1995, pastel on paper mounted on aluminium, 70 x 59 in, Saatchi Gallery" . Retrieved 4 June 2020.