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Paula Rego

PAULA REGO

Drawing from Life Galerie Lelong 21 May–11 July 2026 38 Avenue Matignon, Paris
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Press Release

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is Paula Rego’s connection with the playwright Martin McDonagh, especially his play The Pillowman and a series of unpublished short stories he gave her to read.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.

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Installation Views

Exhibition view: Paula Rego, Drawing from Life, Galerie Lelong, Paris (21 May–11 July 2026). Courtesy Galerie Lelong.
Exhibition view: Paula Rego, Drawing from Life, Galerie Lelong, Paris (21 May–11 July 2026). Courtesy Galerie Lelong.
Exhibition view: Paula Rego, Drawing from Life, Galerie Lelong, Paris (21 May–11 July 2026). Courtesy Galerie Lelong.
Exhibition view: Paula Rego, Drawing from Life, Galerie Lelong, Paris (21 May–11 July 2026). Courtesy Galerie Lelong.
Exhibition view: Paula Rego, Drawing from Life, Galerie Lelong, Paris (21 May–11 July 2026). Courtesy Galerie Lelong.
Exhibition view: Paula Rego, Drawing from Life, Galerie Lelong, Paris (21 May–11 July 2026). Courtesy Galerie Lelong.
Exhibition view: Paula Rego, Drawing from Life, Galerie Lelong, Paris (21 May–11 July 2026). Courtesy Galerie Lelong.
About the Artist

Paula Rego told compelling stories through her paintings, sculptures and pastel pieces, centring the experience of women in society in her imaginative, occasionally disturbing images exploring themes of rebellion, power and gender, working in a style that evolved from abstract to figurative.

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Also Exhibiting at Galerie Lelong

All Exhibitions
David Nash
DAVID NASH Catching Forms. Wood to Bronze Galerie Lelong 10 September–10 October 2026 13 Rue de Téhéran, Paris
Barthélémy Toguo
BARTHÉLÉMY TOGUO The Nomadic Studio Galerie Lelong 10 September–10 October 2026 13 Rue de Téhéran, Paris
About the Gallery
Galerie Lelong is located in Paris and New York. It was founded by Jacques Dupin, Daniel Lelong and Jean Frémon.

The Paris gallery has been exhibiting recent works from artists of international standing since 1981. The 1980s were notable for artists who went on to become household names, including Joan Miró, Antoni Tàpies, Francis Bacon, Louise Bourgeois, Eduardo Chillida, Paul Rebeyrolle, Pierre Alechinsky, but also for the next generation of artists: Konrad Klapheck, Jan Dibbets, Donald Judd, Robert Ryman, Richard Serra, Jannis Kounellis, Arnulf Rainer, Nicola De Maria and Jan Voss.

In the 1990s, the gallery hosted artists who represented major movements in contemporary art: Sean Scully, Günther Förg, Andy Goldsworthy, Ernest Pignon-Ernest, Antonio Saura. The gallery also increased international recognition of the work of Ana Mendieta.

Since the turn of the century, Galerie Lelong has accentuated the geographical and expressive diversity of its artists: from sculpture and objects by Jaume Plensa, David Nash, Wolfgang Laib, Kiki Smith, Rebecca Horn, Barry Flanagan to installations by Barthélémy Toguo and Lin Tianmiao, without forgetting painting, namely David Hockney, Robert Motherwell, Kate Shepherd, Nalini Malani, Nancy Spero, Juan Uslé, Leon KossoffLeon Kossoff.

Galerie Lelong has a large publishing department which produces and distributes engravings, lithographs, digital prints and multiple objects, and collates these works in catalogues raisonnés.

It produces monumental sculptures to order for public spaces and private clients.

The gallery is present at the leading international contemporary art fairs (Art Basel, Art Basel Miami Beach, Art Basel Hong Kong, Fiac Paris, Frieze London, Frieze New York, Arco Madrid, Art Brussels, Expo Chicago...).

The directors of the gallery are Jean Frémon, Daniel Lelong and Patrice Cotensin in Paris and Mary Sabbatino in New York.
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Address
38 avenue Matignon
Paris
France
Opening Hours
Tues - Sat, 11am - 7pm
(1)
Paris 38 avenue Matignon
Galerie Lelong contemporary art gallery in 38 Avenue Matignon Paris France
Galerie Lelong
38 avenue Matignon, Paris, France
+33 171 722 699
http://www.galerie-lelong.com

Opening hours
Tues - Sat, 11am - 7pm
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