Paula Rego

Dame Paula Rego, DBE (born 26 January 1935), is a Portuguese-born British visual artist who is particularly known for her paintings and prints based on storybooks. Rego's style has evolved from abstract towards representational, and she has favoured pastels over oils for much of her career. Her work often reflects feminism, coloured by folk-themes from her native Portugal.

Rego studied at the Slade School of Fine Art and was an exhibiting member of the London Group, along with David Hockney and Frank Auerbach. She was the first artist-in-residence at the National Gallery in London. She lives and works in London. 

Her work has been subject to retrospective exhibits at the Serpentine Gallery (London, UK), Tate Liverpool (Merseyside, UK), the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Oporto, Portugal) or Casa de Serralves (Oporto, Portugal). She has also held solo exhibitions in such prestigious venues as the National Gallery (London, UK), Tate Britain (London, UK), the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid, Spain), or the Royal Academy of Arts (London, United Kingdom)

Auction records:

„The Cadet and his Sister“, an acrylic on paper on canvas (1988), was sold for 1.614.795 euros at a Sotheby's auction (June 2015), establishing the current artist record.

Public collections:

Abbot Hall Art Gallery (Kendal); Arts Council (London); Bristol City Art Gallery; British Council (London); British Government Collection (in deposit at the British Embassy in Lisbon); Frissiras Museum (Athens); Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian (Lisbon); Leeds City Art Gallery (Leeds); Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York); Museu Colecção Berardo (Lisbon); Presidency Museum (Lisbon); Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art (Oporto); National Gallery (London); National Portrait Gallery (London); New Hall (Cambridge); Portuguese Embassy (London); Rugby Museum and Art Gallery; Saatchi Gallery (London); Southampton City Gallery; The Tate Gallery (London); The British Museum (London); University College London Art Collections; Whitworth Art Gallery (Manchester); Yale Center for British Art; IMMA - Irish Museum of Modern Art; Municipal Museum of Modern Art Abel Manta (Gouveia)

Distinctions:

From the distinctions she has been awarded, Paula Rego highlights the Prize Consecration Celpa/Vieira da Silva and the Great Prize Soquil. In June 2010 she received from Queen Elizabeth II the Order of the British Empire (Dame Commander), for services rendered to art.

PDH Honoris Causa, University of Lisbon (2011)

Great Cross of the Order of Sant'Iago da Espada (Portugal, 2004)

Great Official of the Order of Sant'Iago da Espada (Portugal, 2004)