Paula Rego: The artist who championed women’s rights

Paula Rego

She was a fighter with a palette. She fought against the subjugation of women and the gender stereotypes through her paintings and through her political stands on such issues. She fought for the human rights and asserted the power of women. That was what made celebrated Portuguese-born British artist Dame Maria Paula Figueiroa Rego, who died in her London home on Wednesday at the age of 87, a unique phenomenon.

A painting by Paula Rego

Known for her instinctive and disturbing work that always had a socio-political character, Paula Rego was born in Lisbon on January 26, 1935, as the only child of José, who worked as an electronics engineer, and Maria, who studied art but never practiced as an artist. She hailed from an affluent family, and her parents had a broad vision; they realized the talent of the young girl who began drawing from the age of four to “entertain herself”. She knew she wanted to be an artist by the age of eight, despite discouragement from teachers. Thus she joined the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, to chase her dream, of course with the support of her parents.
Following a TB diagnosis at the age of three and at a doctor’s advice to leave Lisbon, her parents had built a house in Estoril, where she lived surrounded by trees and sea air. She also stayed in her grandparents’ summer house in Ericeira. In her early years, Rego was cared for by her grandmother and an aunt, as her parents lived in England where her father worked. 
“They gave us a place to live and supported us for as long as they could. They looked after the children. They had faith in my work,” said Rego in an interview.

A painting by Paula Rego

In the beginning, she did subversive paintings, pastel drawing and prints inspired by folklore. Her paintings, that were mostly figurative and emotionally charged, later focused on the burning issues such as women’s rights, and abortion, of course from a feministic point of view. Sometimes these works were based on storybooks and Portuguese folk tales, infused with somber fantasies and magic realism. However, later her works became more political, as she got associated with different movements. After establishing her artistic identity, she shifted to London, and strengthened her art practice, thus asserting her place as one of Britain’s greatest living painters and figurative artists worldwide. Her passion was drawing and she saw printmaking as an extension of drawing.
In 1965, she was chosen to participate in a group show named ‘Six Artists’ at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) alongside David Hockney and Frank Auerbach. She was the first artist-in-residence at the National Gallery in London. Soon she had her first solo show at the Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes in Lisbon, which was followed by seven solo shows in Portugal, Lisbon, and Oporto alongside a few shows in Britain between 1971 and 1978.

A painting by Paula Rego

In 1959 she married Victor Willing. The couple had three children - daughters Caroline and Victoria, and son Nicholas. Willing died of multiple sclerosis in 1988.
As an advocate of women’s rights and abortion rights, Dame Rego opposed the criminalization of abortion, and was a critic of the anti-abortion movement, because she believed that the anti-abortion movement criminalized women, which forced many of them to find potentially deadly backstreet solutions. “Making abortions illegal is forcing women to the backstreet solution,” she said justifying her stand. 
Such issues found place in her creative expressions that were also against the patriarchal society and the abuse of power. In every respect, her works challenged the male gaze too. “I paint the women I know. I paint what I see. I make women the protagonists because I am one,” she said once.
Dame Rego did a major series which reflected her standpoint against anti-abortion laws. She did these works in response to an abortion referendum to liberalise Portuguese law in 1998, and was credited with helping sway public opinion.

A painting by Paula Rego

Last year, Tate Britain held a major retrospective of her work. Tate art gallery’s director Maria Balshaw described Rego as an “incredible important figure” to Tate. “She was an uncompromising artist of extraordinary imaginative power, who uniquely revolutionised the way in which women’s lives and stories are represented. For many, many women, including myself and countless colleagues at Tate, she was the greatest of trailblazers and a vivid personal inspiration,” she said.

A drawing by Paula Rego

In recognition of her contribution to the art world, during her six-decade career, Paula Rego was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II in 2010. Her works are in many major collections in different parts of the world.