Paula Rego: Nursery Rhymes

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Judah, Hettie (9 June 2022). " 'These women are not victims' – Paula Rego's extraordinary Abortion series". The Guardian. Nursery Rhymes, Marlborough Graphics Gallery, Galeria III and Galeria Zen (1989), the Cheltenham Literary Festival (1993), Cardiff Literature Festival (1995) and the University Gallery, University of Northumbria at Newcastle (1996) [62] Tales from the National Gallery, Travelling Exhibition: Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery; Middlesborough Art Gallery; Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester; Cooper Art Gallery, Barnsley; the National Gallery, London; the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle; The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon This work is illustrated in 'Nursery Rhymes' by Paula Rego, Thames & Hudson and the Folio Society, 1994. Open Secrets – Drawings and Etchings by Paula Rego, University Art Gallery, University of Massachusetts, USA (1999) [62]

At the time of her death, Rego was represented by the Victoria Miro Gallery [28] and the Cristea Roberts Gallery. [29] Her work can be seen in many public and private institutions around the world. There are 43 of her works in the collection of the British Council, [30] ten works in the collection of the Arts Council of England, [31] and 48 works at the Tate Gallery, London. [32] Women's rights and abortion [ edit ] Featured Exhibition: Paula Rego. Obedience and Defiance, MK Gallery, Milton Keynes (until 22 September); Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh (23 November 2019 – 19 April 2020); Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin (Spring 2020)". ARTES. 17 June 2019 . Retrieved 9 June 2022.

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In 1998, Rego began work on a series of Untitled pastels, four of which are displayed here. They depict women in the aftermath of abortions they had to undergo illegally. The artist made those pastels following a Portuguese referendum in 1998 to legalise abortion, which was defeated by a narrow margin. 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? 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. Fiona Bradley, 'Introduction: Automatic Narratives', in Tate Gallery, Paula Rego (London: Tate Publishing, 1997) p.9f All of the prints were in editions of 50 bar one, Untitled, which was in an edition of 15. Numbers 1-15 were presented in 'De-Luxe Portfolios', each containing 26 etchings including 'Untitled'. 16-50 were either sold as 'Standard Portfolios' containing 26 etchings, or sold as individual prints.

Rego is an incredibly important cultural figure in Portugal, considered to be one of the nation's most famous and influential artists. In 2004, she had another retrospective at the Serralves museum in Porto, which was so popular that it had to keep its doors open 24 hours a day. In 2009, she was honoured by her country of origin through the creation of The Paula Rego House of Stories, a dedicated museum built in Cascais, where she had spent much time as a child. The building was designed by the architect Eduardo Souto de Moura, who seamlessly inserted an impressive contemporary structure into a beautiful natural setting. The museum houses many Rego works, as well as paintings by the artist's late husband, Victor Willing. Rego's work was included in the 2022 exhibition Women Painting Women at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. [26] In 2023 some of her art was exhibited at the Pera Museum in Istanbul. [27] 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] Rego’s fascination with storytelling has never faded. She has spent her life listening out for stories and turning them into pictures. The 1990s was a particularly productive period. Working in oil and acrylic paint, watercolour, and etching and aquatint, Rego took inspiration from a wide range of sources. Her series of Nursery Rhymes prints from 1989 illustrate traditional British children’s songs. Rego was delighted by the strangeness of these rhymes, which she highlights in her prints.

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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 a man of double deed Marco Livingstone, Paula Rego – Grooming, in Art: The Critics' Choice, Aurum Press, London (1998). [8] At the Slade School of Fine Art, Rego began an affair with fellow student Victor Willing, who was already married to another artist, Hazel Whittington. [2] Rego had many abortions during their affair, starting from when she was 18 years old, because Willing had threatened to return to his wife if Rego kept their child. [5] Willing, Victor. Paula Rego: Paintings 1982 – 3 Arnolfini, Bristol; Galerie Espace, Amsterdam, (1983). [8]