Paula Rego

Artist biography:

Born in Lisbon in 1934

Studied at the Slade School of Art, London (1952-56) Paula Rego currently lives and works in London.

Rego's style is often compared to cartoon illustration. As in cartoons, animals are often depicted in human roles and situations. Her later work adopts a more realistic style, but sometimes keeps the animal references. Her work often gives a sinister edge to storybook imagery, emphasizing malicious domination or the subversion of natural order. She deals with social realities that are polemic, an example being her important Triptych (1998) on the subject of abortion, now in the collection of Abbot Hall Art Gallery in Kendal.

She was shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 2005. 'Paula Rego in Focus' at Tate Britain in 2004, was a retrospective on the artists' work leading up to 2004.