Paula Rego: The Personal and the Political

By Paula Rego

Rego's lifelong advocacy for women's rights and anti-authoritarianism resonates throughout her striking, large-scale paintings

Born in Portugal but based in London for most of her life, Paula Rego (1935-2022) relentlessly exposed social grievances through her art. Her large, confrontational oil and pastel paintings--almost always of female subjects--draw upon the horrors found in both storybook narratives and women's lived experiences. They are dedicated to highly emotional themes such as political and sexualized violence, physical self-determination and mental health. Featuring more than 120 works spanning seven decades, The Personal and the Political explores the dichotomy of public and private in Rego's oeuvre: beginning with her early 1950s paintings criticizing the Estado Novo and including her famous Abortion series, her personal contribution criticizing the anti-abortion movement.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 3775760954
• ISBN13: 9783775760959
• Release Date: October 2025
• Publisher: Hatje Cantz
• Length: 208 Pages