Sandven Art

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    Celia Paul (b. 1959)

    British

    Celia Paul is a British painter and printmaker born in Trivandrum, India, in 1959. Her work centres on people and places known intimately: her mother, sisters, herself, and the spaces in which she lives and works. Portraits, interiors and seascapes explore presence, memory and the passage of time. Repeated attention to familiar subjects gives her images both emotional concentration and a sense of sustained observation.

    Biography

    Celia Paul studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in London from 1976 to 1981. Her practice developed through prolonged attention to a small circle of subjects, particularly her mother and sisters. Painting the same person repeatedly allows changes of mood, light and perception to become part of the work. Portraiture is joined by images of her studio, home and the sea. These subjects connect an interior life with the world beyond the figure. Her drawings and prints extend this enquiry through the possibilities of line and tonal variation. Paul's work was the subject of a solo exhibition at the Yale Center for British Art in 2018, which travelled to The Huntington in 2019. Her art can be approached through the patient relationship between looking and remembering, with the sitter remaining a distinct presence rather than an anonymous type.

    Available works

    Celia Paul – Mother sitting, profile

    Mother sitting, profile

    Celia Paul – My Mother Asleep

    My Mother Asleep

    Celia Paul – My Mother in Profile

    My Mother in Profile

    Celia Paul – My Mother with Raised Arms

    My Mother with Raised Arms

    Celia Paul – Pregnant Girl (framed, smaller)

    Pregnant Girl (framed, smaller)

    Koldnål

    Collecting & enquiries

    Celia Paul's portraits reward time and close attention. Their appeal lies in the concentrated encounter with a person, conveyed through subtle changes of line, tone and posture. Explore the works shown here and enquire about their technique, paper, edition and condition.

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    Sources and further reading