Galerie Lelong
Paula Rego , Portugal
--
"Drawing from Life"
"Life Room III (red)", 2005 Lithograph, stage proof hand-colored by the artist, 76 × 56.6 cm © The Estate of Paula Rego. Courtesy Ostrich Arts Ltd, Cristea Roberts Gallery and Galerie Lelong
This new Paula Rego exhibition at Galerie Lelong focuses on an intense three-year period (2005–2007) which the artist spent in her London studio, devoting herself almost exclusively to drawing and lithography. Having just turned 70, she appreciated the immediacy of these two mediums, which enabled her to explore darker and more complex themes than ever before.
Paula Rego was an avid reader, particularly of novels, tales and legends. She had previously drawn inspiration from Jane Eyre, Peter Pan, and others. The Prince Pig series offers an incisive exploration of the moral of The King of Pigs, a sixteenth-century tale by the Venetian writer Straparola. The pig, an anthropomorphic figure which is omnipresent in her work, was her favourite animal; it reminded her of the one her grandparents had raised during her childhood in Portugal, which she had become attached to, and which was one day put to death.
Another reference present in some of the works on display is Paula Rego’s connection with the playwright Martin McDonagh, especially his play The Pillowman and a series of unpublished short stories he gave her to read. These narratives became a means for her to freely express her own story, excavating childhood memories and an inner world filled with contradictions, conflicts and personal crises. This gave rise to works such as Shakespeare’s Room, Scarecrow, Turtle Hands…
Drawing from Life is Paula Rego’s third exhibition at Galerie Lelong. We would like to thank Nick Willing, the artist’s son, and the Cristea Roberts Gallery (London), who have made this exhibition possible.
Paula Rego was born in Lisbon in 1935 and died in London in 2022. Having fled Salazar’s totalitarian regime in 1951 to study art in the United Kingdom, she found herself immersed in the stimulating atmosphere of the English art scene of the time. She was the only female artist in the London School, alongside figures such as Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Frank Auerbach and Leon Kossoff.
In 2018, a major exhibition was dedicated to her at the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, The Cruel Stories of Paula Rego. A major retrospective is being presented at the Munchmuseet in Oslo from April 24th.
Her work is featured in numerous collections, including those of the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; the Metropolitan Museum, New York; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the British Museum, London, UK; the National Gallery, London; and the Tate Modern, London.
Solo show of Paula Rego
From May 21 to July 11, 2026
The gallery
The creation of the gallery in 1945 in Paris by Aimé Maeght was marked, during the first thirty years, by the presentation of major artists such as Joan Miró, Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Alberto Giacometti, Eduardo Chillida, Antoni Tàpies, and Francis Bacon. Upon Maeght’s passing in 1981, the gallery took its current name and was led by three equal partners: Jacques Dupin, Daniel Lelong, and Jean Frémon (J. Dupin passed away in 2012, the same year D. Lelong stepped down as president, handing over the role to J. Frémon, the current director of both the Paris and New York galleries).
From the 1980s onwards, significant artists such as Pierre Alechinsky, Louise Bourgeois, Konrad Klapheck, Jannis Kounellis, and Joan Miró, among others, joined the gallery. Galerie Lelong New York opened in 1985 and has been led since 1990 by Mary Sabbatino, expanding the program to major figures of the Latin American art scene: Alfredo Jaar, Ana Mendieta, Cildo Meireles, Hélio Oiticica, and Zilia Sánchez.
Today, the gallery continues its history, showcasing leading artists from the global art scene such as Etel Adnan, Marc Desgrandchamps, Leonardo Drew, Barry Flanagan, Günther Förg, Hyunsun Jeon, David Hockney, Nalini Malani, David Nash, Jaume Plensa, Arnulf Rainer, Paula Rego, Christine Safa, Kiki Smith, Nancy Spero, and Barthélémy Toguo.
The gallery has developed the production of monumental sculptures intended for public spaces with artists such as Jaume Plensa, Ursula von Rydingsvard, and Jean Dubuffet, thanks to a privileged relationship with the Dubuffet Foundation.
Gallery artists
Etel Adnan, Pierre Alechinsky, Karel Appel, James Brown, Eduardo Chillida, Nicola De Maria, Marc Desgrandchamps, Leonardo Drew, Jean Dubuffet, Simone Fattal, Barry Flanagan, Günther Förg, Ficre Ghebreyesus, Andy Goldsworthy, Sarah Grilo, Jane Hammond, David Hockney, Frank Horvat, Jean-Baptiste Huynh, Konrad Klapheck, Jiri Kolàr, Jannis Kounellis, Nalini Malani, Ana Mendieta, Henri Michaux, Joan Miró, David Nash, Ernest Pignon-Ernest, Jaume Plensa, Arnulf Rainer, Paula Rego, Alison Saar, Christine Safa, Sean Scully, Kate Shepherd, Kiki Smith, Nancy Spero, Antoni Tàpies, Mildred Thompson, Barthélémy Toguo, Richard Tuttle, Juan Uslé, Marion Verboom, Fabienne Verdier, Ursula von Rydingsvard, Jan Voss, Guy Yanai, Wang Yan Cheng
