Paula Rego - T. G. Rosenthal

This is the first monograph to deal exclusively with Rego's graphic work. It features over two hundred etchings, aquatints and lithographs from 1954 right up to the Jane Eyre series in 2002, and includes her most recent colour lithographs Apres La Fete I and Apres La Fete II of 2003. For many painters, etching and lithography are merely an adjunct to their art, their graphic images simple copies of their paintings in another medium. Rego is unique in that her graphic works are mostly original in theme as well as execution, yet manage to carry the same disturbing and subversive power as her paintings. Rego's friend and long time supporter T. G. Rosenthal provides the background to each series and analyses each work. He also quotes extensively from conversations with the artist, underlining Rego's dark humour and her strongly feminist outlook. A fully illustrated catalogue raisonne, a description of Rego's techniques by Paul Coldwell, a comprehensive list of exhibitions, and a bibliography make this an essential survey of a major aspect of Rego's work.