Paula Rego

Known for: narrative figurative painting; the abortion pastel series (1998)

Paula Rego grew up in Portugal under the Salazar dictatorship and developed a painting practice drawing on Portuguese folk culture, fairy tales, and the power structures between women, men, and children with a formal intensity that draws on Hogarth, Goya, and narrative illustration as much as fine art painting. She was the first artist to be given the National Gallery's inaugural Associate Artist position in 1990. Her Untitled pastel series addressing illegal abortion in Portugal is widely credited with influencing the 1998 Portuguese referendum on the subject.