Paula Rego’s Women is a powerful and intimate study of the art of Paula Rego (1935–2022), one of the finest painters of our age. Centred on her radical, unsettling and deeply humane portrayals of women, it is written by a curator who worked closely with Rego from the mid-1990s onwards and, as a result, offers a unique perspective.  Beginning with The Dance (1988), the picture that marked both a turning point in Rego’s career and a moment of profound personal loss, the book traces the development of Rego’s work through her depiction of women, making the argument that much of their appeal to the viewer lies in Rego’s emotional connection with them.

Fiona Bradley has drawn on her regular conversations with the artist, on information and insights gathered in Rego’s studio and on Rego’s own writings and interviews, as well as on close visual analysis of the works. She brings to the fore Rego’s central artistic method of storytelling. In stories drawn from literature, fairy tales, religion, myth, politics and domestic life, Rego’s women emerge as agents rather than illustrations: daughters, mothers, lovers, rebels, aggressors and survivors, they occupy spaces shaped by power, family, sexuality, faith and violence.

A consummate storyteller, Rego made pictures that reach into the room with the viewer, inviting us in, helping us find space for ourselves in the stories they tell. Her women age as she did – and as we do as we look at them. From small girls to very old ladies, Rego’s women help us contemplate our past, present and future. At once critical, personal and reflective, Paula Rego’s Women is an essential account of Rego’s work and a compelling meditation on how images address the changing lives of those who stand before them.