Pauline Boty, born in Carshalton, Surrey, England on March 6, 1938 to July 1, 1966 (aged 28) was a British painter & co-founder of the 1960s’ British Pop art movement as the only female member.
In 1954 she won a scholarship to the Wimbledon School of Art, which she attended despite her father’s disapproval. Her mother, on the other hand, was supportive, as she has been a frustrated artist.
Boty was at her most productive two years after graduating from college. She developed a signature Pop style and iconography. Her first group show was held in Nov 1961 in A.I.A Gallery in London.
Her paintings became critical over time. In It’s a Man’s World II (1965 to 66) she redisplayed female nudes from fine art & softcore pornographic sources to signify newly liberated “female eroticism”.
In June 1965 she became pregnant. During a prenatal exam, a tumor was discovered & she was diagnosed with cancer. She smoke marijuana to ease the pain, gave birth to her child & died later that year.
As of 2013 the location of some of her most sought after paintings is unknown. In Nov 2019, the New York Times profiled her in their Overlooked No More series: “Pauline Boty, Rebellious Pop Artist.”
