Celia Paul is an expansive and long-overdue monograph that charts a path through the career of one of the most prolific British painters of the past half century, and includes new writings on Paul’s work by Karl Ove Knausgaard, Hilton Als, Clare Carlisle, Edmund de Waal, and Rowan Williams, as well as an essay by Paul herself. Beginning with the earliest works made by Paul at the age of fifteen, this extensive volume weaves a chronological sequence across fifty years of work. Within the rhythms of the book appear themes and figures that Paul has returned to again and again: her mother, her sisters, the sea, and, crucially, the artist herself. This collection of over three hundred works expresses the tireless inquisitiveness with which Paul approaches her subjects, and the ways painting offers an understanding of the world around her. Until now, Paul’s work has been largely overshadowed by the canon of male artists who have dominated the landscape of British painting, such as Francis Bacon, Frank Auerbach, and Lucian Freud, with whom Celia had a long relationship. The works collected in this volume not only demonstrate Paul’s deserved place in the art historical canon, but the deep-felt spirituality and vision that imbue her approach to form, light, and the movement of paint on canvas. Accompanies a major exhibition Celia Paul: Colony of Ghosts at Victoria Miro, London from 14 March–17 April 2025.
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