Paula Rego
1935-2022 · Portuguese-British · Figurative art, School of London
Auction record: $4.62M
Dancing Ostriches from Walt Disney's 'Fantasia' (triptych), 1995 · Christie's, London · Oct 15, 2025
Source: heni.com
Biography
Paula Rego (1935 to 2022) was a Portuguese-born painter who worked in London for most of her life and became one of the most important figurative artists of her generation. Her pastels and paintings turn fairy tales, folk stories and family memory into sharp studies of power, gender and control, often with a dark sense of humour. She trained at the Slade and in 1990 became the first Associate Artist of the National Gallery in London. Her market has grown fast since her 2021 Tate retrospective and her death in 2022: in October 2025 a Dancing Ostriches triptych set a new auction record at Christie's London, confirming strong demand for her major 1990s pastel series.
Recent auction results
| Dancing Ostriches from Walt Disney's 'Fantasia' (triptych, 1995)Christie's, London | $4.62M | Oct 15, 2025 | artribune.com |
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Market
- Liquidity: Medium
Museums
- Tate, London
- Casa das Histórias Paula Rego, Cascais
- Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon
- British Museum, London
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Sources
- HENI News: Paula Rego's auction record jumps 23% (15/10/2025)
- Artribune: Christie's London 20th/21st Century Evening Sale (16/10/2025)
- Lusa via AMAN Alliance (15/10/2025)
- Diário de Notícias: Meadow sold at Sotheby's (06/2024)
- Wikipedia: Paula Rego
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