Paula Rego was a painter of rage, longing and loneliness
The Portuguese-British artist died on June 8th, aged 87
Always obey your man, Paula Rego’s grandmother told her. Never say anything against him. Never cross him. Whatever he wants, you do. When, at a party, the 17-year-old art-school student, then still a virgin, met Victor Willing, a rising (and married) star at the Slade School of Fine Art in London, he pushed her into a little side room and instructed her to pull down her knickers. She did as she was told. An only child born into upper-middle-class privilege in a Portugal that was authoritarian, repressive and deeply conservative, she was an obedient girl, or so it seemed.
This article appeared in the Obituary section of the print edition under the headline “Paint power”
From the June 18th 2022 edition
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