Pauline Boty A Portrait
Exhibition: 1 December 2023 — 24 February, 2024. Gazelli Art House, 39 Dover Street, London W1S 4NN

Our roving reporter was invited to attend the press briefing of an exciting new art exhibition with tremendous local significance. Gazelli Art House celebrates the life and legacy of trailblazing British painter Pauline Boty (1938-1966) in her first posthumous solo exhibition in a decade. Pauline Boty: A Portrait presents a remarkable opportunity to view Boty’s coveted paintings in unison, alongside a plethora of profound, archival materials. Marking the artist’s third showing at Gazelli Art House, this exhibition continues the gallery’s explorations of Boty’s pivotal and enduring artistic impact. Pauline Boty: A Portrait marks over twenty years since Pauline Boty – The Only Blonde in the World (The Mayor Gallery and Whitford Fine Art, London), and ten years since Pauline Boty: Pop Artist and Woman (Wolverhampton Art Gallery, UK, touring to Pallant House Gallery) curated by Boty specialist and author, Dr Sue Tate.

Pauline Boty (1938-1966) was born in Carshalton, and embarked on her artistic journey with a scholarship to Wimbledon School of Art in 1954. In 1958, she continued her studies at the Royal College of Art.

Boty’s diverse body of work, encompassing paintings, collages, and stained glass, often depicted individuals she deeply admired, celebrated her unapologetic femininity, and explored themes of female sexuality. As her career progressed, her paintings began to incorporate more overt or implicit critiques of the male-dominated societal norms she confronted, thus shedding light on the inequalities of the “man’s world” in which she navigated.

The significance of this exhibition not only draws attention to the radical artworks and ideas of Boty, and the new wave of feminism she undoubtedly heralded, but also highlights the efforts of recent years to rightfully reinstate Boty to her place in art history.

Arts Network Sutton honours Pauline Boty by awarding a prize in her name at the Youth Art Show.

Photographs taken by Doug Shaw on location at Gazelli Art House