Pauline Boty (1938-1966), 1962, Epitaph to Something’s Gotta Give [detail], oil on board (estimate: £500,000-800,000). Christie’s Images Ltd. 2024.
Pauline Boty’s tribute to Marilyn Monroe, Epitaph to Something’s Gotta Give was exhibited at the Arthur Jeffress Gallery in August 1962, and gifted by the artist to a close friend two years later. It has remained in the same collection ever since.
Christie’s Modern British and Irish Art specialist Angus Granlund says the gift marked a key moment in Boty’s career: “A trailblazing pioneer and true polymath, Boty painted, acted, danced and engaged in political activism. However, at this key period she refocused her energy on painting, turning down acting roles to do so.” Granlund further describes the work as “a hugely important picture, and Boty’s only Marilyn painting still in a private collection. It unites two women who were synonymous with one another in the 1960s.”
Epitaph to Something’s Gotta Give (1962, estimate: £500,000-800,000), is a leading highlight of the Modern British and Irish Art Evening Sale on 20 March.
Ali Smith inspecting Epitaph to Something’s Gotta Give in the short film accompanying the lot essay. Christie’s Images Ltd. 2024.
The essay and short film with Ali Smith are available here: [link]
Lot detail Epitaph to Something’s Gotta Give, 1962 Oil on hardboard 106.5 x 127 cm
Estimate GBP 500,000-800,000
Auction details Modern British and Irish Art Evening Sale 20 March 6:30PM GMT | Live Auction 22673
Viewing New York: from 9–21 February London: from 13–20 March
Further information on the auction is here: [link]
From the festival website: “Nevill Holt is proud to welcome a lineup of internationally renowned artists to Leicestershire this June for the inaugural Nevill Holt Festival. Building upon a decade of opera performances, the Festival will now also host classical music, theatre, art, jazz and contemporary music, alongside conversations with leading novelists, historians, broadcasters and artists.
Our afternoon celebration of British Pop art pioneer Pauline Boty (at 14:00 on Thursday 13 June in the Nevill Holt Theatre) begins with a world-exclusive showing of BOTY, the first-ever film to explore the fascinating life and times of the trail-blazing artist. This will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Dr Sue Tate, Natalie Gibson, Chila Kumari Singh Burman, Louisa Buck, Vinny Rawding and Lee Cogswell.
This documentary film celebrates the life of one of the most important British artists of the 20th century who within her art analysed, subverted and skewered Pop culture. The film documents the rise of Pauline Boty’s work, her artistic reputation and her legacy after many years of relative obscurity in the British art world following her early death in 1966.
Including newly discovered pieces and footage of Boty acting on screen, this film is the definitive portrait of one of Britain’s most vital and important artists.
Dr Sue Tate is an art historian, curator, author, and the leading expert on British Pop artist Pauline Boty. Author of the seminal book Pauline Boty: Pop Artist and Woman, Sue has curated several major retrospectives, and lectured on Boty around the world. Sue’s research has been instrumental in re-establishing Boty’s life and work, which was overlooked and forgotten over time. Through Sue’s work, Boty has rightfully been reinstated as one of the founders of British Pop art and one of the most enigmatic and important female artists of the 20th century.
Natalie Gibson is one of the most prolific and renowned contemporary textile designers, and was a close friend of Pauline Boty. Natalie trained at Chelsea School of Art and the Royal College of Art before teaching at Central St Martins where she has taught since 1962, founding and heading the BA Fashion Print course in 1981. Natalie has been instrumental in teaching and inspiring many of this country’s leading fashion designers, including Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Matthew Williamson and Giles Deacon. She works closely with artists, such as Grayson Perry, and teaches design and print courses in India and China. Natalie was awarded an MBE in 2014 for her services to fashion. She also has her own clothing brand: Nat the Cat.
Chila Kumari Singh Burman is celebrated for her radical feminist practice which examines representation, gender and cultural identity. She works across a wide range of mediums including printmaking, drawing, painting, installation and film. In 2017, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate and Honorary Fellowship from the University of Arts in London, and in 2021 received an honorary doctorate from UCL. In 2022 she was awarded an MBE for her services to the arts. Burman has exhibited widely with notable solo shows held at the Mansard Gallery, Heal’s London; Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art; Output Gallery, Liverpool; Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool and Tate Britain, London. Her works are also held in the public collections of The Arts Council Collection, The British Council, The Science Museum, The Tate Collection, The V&A and The Wellcome Trust.
Louisa Buck is a writer and broadcaster on contemporary art. She is a Contributing Editor and London Contemporary Art Correspondent for The Art Newspaper and a regular reviewer and commentator on BBC radio and TV. Her articles have appeared in publications ranging from The Guardian and Vogue to Frieze and Artforum. Her books include Moving Targets 2: A User’s Guide to British Art Now, Market Matters: The Dynamics of the Contemporary Art Market and Owning Art: The Contemporary Art Collector’s Handbook (co-authored with Judith Greer). Louisa was a judge for the 2005 Turner Prize and is a founding member of The Gallery Climate Coalition.
Filmmakers Vinny Rawding and Lee Cogswell are part of the creative team at Mono Media Films and Channel X, who have produced documentary films on Peter Blake, The Style Council, Tubby Hayes and many more over the last decade. Both are long-term admirers of Pauline Boty’s work and have spent the last five years piecing together the story of Boty’s life, bringing the first film on this Pop art pioneer to the big screen.”
Further information for the festival including how to book tickets is available here: [link]
Further information CELEBRATING PAULINE BOTY: BOTY FILM PREMIERE AND TALK Thursday 13 June 2024 14:00 Nevill Holt Theatre Market Harborough Leicestershire LE16 8EG
The new industry trailer for the forthcoming documentary film from Mono Media Films and Channel X, BOTY – The life and times of a forgotten artist (working title), was shown last night as part of the sold out Gazelli Talk: Pauline Boty From Canvas to Screen.
The evening included previews of documentaries showcasing Boty’s dynamic career in both art and acting alongside a panel talk with Cat Mayne (AD / Associate Producer), Lee Cogswell (Director), Libby Horner (Art Historian/Filmmaker), Marc Kristal (Author), Charles Mapleston (Filmmaker), and Vinny Rawding (Writer/Filmmaker) and was moderated by Travis Elborough (Author).
Mono Media / Chanel X, who have previously produced documentary films on Peter Blake, The Style Council, Tubby Hayes and more, have spent the last five years piecing together the story of Pauline Boty’s life and times to bring the first ever film on this Pop Art Pioneer to life on the big screen. Key figures interviewed for the film include Natalie Gibson, Celia Birtwell, Derek Boshier, Bridget Boty, Sir Peter Blake, Geoffrey Reeve and Sue Tate among many others.
Author Marc Kristal reading from his new biography of Pauline Boty during last night’s sold out talk at Gazelli Art House. Photo courtesy of Mono Media
In the latest episode of In Talks With: Adventures in visual culture by journalist Danielle Radojcin she discusses Boty with Mila Askarova, owner of Gazelli Art House and curator of the exhibition Pauline Boty: A Portrait; Vinny Rawding, film director of a new, soon to be released documentary about the artist; and the curator and art historian Sue Tate, author of a biography on Boty’s life.
From the podcast’s website: “Who was Pauline Boty? With her blonde, backcombed hairstyle and It Girl charm, this pioneer of Pop art embodied the 1960s scene in London, hanging with Bob Dylan, posing for David Bailey, and acting with Michael Caine in the film Alfie. As a new generation discovers her work, Danielle Radojcin and guests explore the tragically short life and burgeoning legacy of this extraordinary woman.
Born in 1938 in Croydon, Boty studied at The Royal Academy and became a part of the nascent British pop art movement, along with the likes of Peter Blake and Derek Boshier. In the words of the writer Michael Bracewell, ‘She seemed to embody the early days of the Pop Age.’
During her tragically short life, she produced an exciting and complex body of work, commenting on pop culture, feminism and so much of the era in which she lived, and much of which has been assembled for an exhibition at the Gazelli Art House in Mayfair, where this recording took place.”
The episode is available to listen to at Apple Podcasts here [link] and Simplecast here: [link]
Pauline Boty (1938-1966), 1962, Epitaph to Something’s Gotta Give, oil on board (estimate: £500,000-800,000). Image courtesy of Christies
Christie’s London has announced the following exciting news:
“THE ONLY PORTRAIT OF MARILYN MONROE BY BOTY IN PRIVATE HANDS, we will offer Pauline Boty’s celebratory tribute to Marilyn Monroe, Epitaph to Something’s Gotta Give (1962, estimate: £500,000-800,000), as a leading highlight of the Modern British and Irish Art Evening Sale on 20 March. The painting was gifted to a close friend of Boty’s in 1964 and has remained in the same collection since. One of Pop Art’s founding members, Pauline Boty died prematurely at the age of 28 in 1966. Epitaph to Something’s Gotta Give is one of only around 25 Pop paintings that Boty created and was included in a rare lifetime exhibition at Arthur Jeffress Gallery in London in 1962.
Boty painted two further depictions of Monroe as tributes to the actress following her death, both of which are held in museum collections: Colour Her Gone, 1962 (Wolverhampton Art Gallery) and The Only Blond in the World, 1963 (Tate, London). Epitaph to Something’s Gotta Give will be on view in New York from 9 to 21 February before being exhibited in London from 13 to 20 March.
Angus Granlund, Head of Modern British and Irish Art Evening Sale, Christie’s: ‘Painted in Boty’s distinctive style, Epitaph to Something’s Gotta Give takes the form of a pictorial collage that is entirely rendered in oil paint. A celebration of female empowerment, this is thought to be Boty’s only painting of Monroe painted during the actress’ lifetime. The epitaph referred to in the title relates to the film Something’s Gotta Give shutting down production. The centrepiece of the composition is taken from a photograph published in Life magazine on 22 June 1962, depicting Monroe swimming in a pool on set. Collecting, collating and synthesising mass culture imagery from newspapers, adverts and magazines was central to Boty’s practice. A true polymath, as well as being a ground-breaking artist, Boty was also a talented actress and political activist. She strongly identified with Monroe and is often associated with her. Held in the same private collection since 1964, this rare painting brings together these two celebrated 1960s icons. Christie’s is honoured to present Epitaph to Something’s Gotta Give as a leading highlight of the Modern British and Irish Art Evening Sale and look forward to welcoming clients in New York and London to view this Pop Art masterpiece.’
Pauline Boty was a pioneering artist whose work shaped one of the greatest movements in British art of the 20th century. Within her short lifetime, she created a powerful, vibrant group of works that explored popular culture and left-wing politics, subjects which were coming into sharp focus in the 1960s. Boty studied at the Royal College of Art, the seedbed of the Pop Art movement, where she met, befriended and went on to exhibit with Sir Peter Blake, Derek Boshier, David Hockney, Peter Phillips and Patrick Caulfield. In 1961, she exhibited along with Blake, Geoffrey Reeve and Christine Porter at the A.I.A. Gallery in a group show seen as the very first Pop Art exhibition.”
Lot detail Epitaph to Something’s Gotta Give, 1962 Oil on hardboard 106.5 x 127 cm
Estimate GBP 500,000-800,000
Auction details Modern British and Irish Art Evening Sale 20 March 6:30PM GMT | Live Auction 22673
Viewing New York: from 9–21 February London: from 13–20 March
Further information will both be added to this post and be available here nearer the time: [link]
Spread from exhibition catalogue showing vitrine on display in “Pauline Boty: A Portrait” at Gazelli Art House
Officially launched on 23 January, the publication contains essays and reminiscences by Bridget Boty, Ali Smith CBE FRSL, Prof Lynda Nead FBA, and Dr Sue Tate as well as quotations from influential figures relating to Boty including Natalie Gibson, Derek Boshier, Caroline Coon, Adrian Mibus (Whitford Fine Art) and James Mayor (The Mayor Gallery).
The book also contains individual images of Boty’s works on display, portraits of her by John Aston, Roger Mayne, Lewis Morley, Geoffrey Reeve, John Timbers and Michael Ward, photos of the vitrines, installation shots and more to provide a great memento for anyone visiting and the next best thing to anyone unable to do so.
Further details, including how to purchase the book, are available here: [link]
Exhibition catalogue for “Pauline Boty: A Portrait” at Gazelli Art House with cover photo by Roger Mayne
Pauline Boty, costume for the Bishop, The Balcony, 1961. Gouache on paper. On display in Stage & Screen: Designs from the James L Gordon Collection at the Hunterian Art Gallery. Photo by Colin Malcolm
This free exhibition includes three costumes (for the Bishop, the Judge and the General) and a set design from 1961, all created by Boty for an unrealised production of Jean Genet’s “The Balcony” and runs until 25 February 2024. The University of Glasgow website [location of the Hunterian Art Gallery] has further information, as follows:
“Stage and Screen features works on paper from the James L Gordon Collection, on show in Scotland for the first time. Covering designs for both theatre and film, this visually engaging exhibition offers a rare glimpse into this unique personal collection of rich and diverse material.
With a few earlier exceptions, the James L Gordon collection comprises set and costume designs for British theatre productions from about 1900 to the 1990s, and British and American designs for film and television from the 1930s onwards. The designs are almost all two-dimensional: drawings, watercolours, paintings and collages, rather than three-dimensional models. The range of material is immense, embracing everything from Shakespeare to pantomime, opera to ballet, Hammer horror to Hollywood musicals and Doctor Who to the Eurovision Song Contest.
Spanning the whole of the 20th century, Stage and Screen includes works by leading artists such as Cecil Beaton and David Hockney and designs for famous productions including Oh! Calcutta!, Hair, Cats, Little Shop of Horrors and The Slab Boys. The exhibition also features costume designs for stars such as Rudolf Nureyev, Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Grace Jones.
Presented chronologically, by decade, the hundreds of works on display cover a wide range of social and cultural issues, highlighting the history of how they have been represented in the theatre and on screen.
As well as set designs by artists such as Patrick Caulfield, Edward Burra, Paul Nash and Rex Whistler, the exhibition also features costume designs for performers and musicians, often identifiable by the inscriptions or drawings, including Liza Minelli, Elton John, The Jackson Five, Mick Jagger and The Beatles.”
Pauline Boty, costume for the Judge and the General, The Balcony, 1961. Gouache on paper. On display in Stage & Screen: Designs from the James L Gordon Collection at the Hunterian Art Gallery. Photo by Colin Malcolm
Location Hunterian Art Gallery University of Glasgow 82 Hillhead St Glasgow G12 8QQ The Hunterian is part of the University of Glasgow. The Museums, Art Gallery and The Mackintosh House are located on the Gilmorehill campus, 3km west of Glasgow city centre
Gallery Stage and Screen is in Gallery 2, located upstairs. The space is fully accessible via lift
Opening times Tuesday to Sunday 10am–5pm. Closed Monday. Please check the Opening Hours page before visting, here [link]
Further information, including a downloadable list of works, is available here: [link]
Stage & Screen: Designs from the James L Gordon Collection at the Hunterian Art Gallery. Photo by Colin Malcolm
With much thanks to Colin Malcolm for both providing the information about the exhibition and sharing his photos from the event.
Monica Vitti with Heart, 1963, shown on display in “Pauline Boty: a portrait” at Gazelli Art House
The exhibition has understandably received a considerable amount of favourable reviews and reassessments of Pauline Boty’s life and work so, as promised, we’ve put together a selection of representative quotes with links to the original articles (please note however – some require a subscription to access or are behind a paywall).
“Art historians now broadly agree that Boty’s work stands alongside the best Pop art of the era – and had she not died at the age of only 28, many believe she was on course to become one of the great artists of her generation.” “‘Bold, outrageous’: forgotten star of swinging 60s pop art celebrated with London solo show”, Rob Walker, The Observer, 26 November 2023 [link]
“Boty’s paintings revel in the pleasures of consumerism, in the experience of fandom and infatuation, but with a gaze invested with tenderness towards the reciprocal desires of men and women – in sharp contrast to the ironic fetishisation of women found in other Pop art. This rare show brings together key canvases such as Colour Her Gone and With Love to Jean-Paul Belmondo with earlier collages and works in stained-glass.” “The Top 10 Exhibitions to See in December 2023”, J.J. Charlesworth, ArtReview, 30 November 2023 [link]
“To describe Pauline Boty as a ‘pioneer’ is a bit like calling someone a ‘one-off’. It’s not an adequate description of her in any way.” “Life in colour: Annie Nightingale remembers Pop art painter Pauline Boty”, The Spectator, 2 December 2023 [link]
“There are only 25 recorded Pop period (1962-66) paintings by Pauline Boty, who encapsulated London’s Swinging Sixties with her blonde bob, black eyeliner and colourful, politically attuned art – and five of them are in a show at Gazelli Art House (until February 24).” “Pauline Boty in the Limelight”, Melanie Girlis, Financial Times, 14 December 2023 [link]
“A similar desire to explore femininity and attitudes to female bodies can be found in the work of Pauline Boty. A bold new show at Gazelli Art House – the first posthumous solo exhibition in a decade – platforms the life and work of the British writer, painter and actress who co-founded the 1960s Pop art movement. Pauline Boty: A Portrait digs into Boty’s life and work, showcasing her sensual and erotic works that defiantly reasserted a female perspective, parodying classic tropes associated with femininity and depicting male idols as sexualised pinups.” “A year of culture”, Will Moffitt, Mayfair Times, 1 January 2024 [link]
“‘Boty was a very diverse artist, incorporating collage, lithography, stained glass, painting, and film. Each time, regardless of medium, she would bring in new elements—be it references to pop culture imagery or Victoriana,’ said Gazelli Art House’s Mila Askarova. ‘I think that willingness and ability to experiment, yet still retain a distinctive style, separated her into a league of her own.’” “Pauline Boty’s Sex-Positive Pop Art Is Having a Moment”, Cath Pound, Artsy, 3 January 2024 [link]
“Boty’s transformation from David Frost’s ‘super bird’ to radical Pop artist with unusual ambitions is complete.” “Pauline Boty: Pop art’s only female icon laid bare”, Waldemar Januszczak, Sunday Times, 7 January 2024 [link]
“Boty’s art sizzled with wit, wry humour and social commentary. Her practice was diverse, ranging from stained glass to irreverent paintings and collages of icons such as Elvis and Marilyn Monroe, as well as explorations of race riots in America and the Cuban missile crisis. She subverted expectations, painting men like sex symbols and giving her female subjects sexual freedom.” “Pauline Boty: the dazzling 1960s artist finally having her moment”, Ella Alexander, Harper’s Bazaar, 16 January 2024 [link]
Exhibitiondetails Pauline Boty: A Portrait Exhibition dates: 1 December 2023 — 24 February, 2024
Gazelli Art House, 39 Dover Street, London W1S 4NN Tel: (+44) 01353 660347
Further information, including additional reviews, is available at the Gazelli Art House website here: [link]
“Untitled (Pauline Boty In Her Studio with ‘July 26’), 1963” by Michael Ward. Vintage photographic print. Ed. 4/25. Courtesy of Elizabeth Seal-Ward for the Michael Ward Archive & Gazelli Art House
In association with the exhibition “Pauline Boty: a portrait” currently showing at Gazelli Art House the gallery has commissioned a series of four C-prints by Michael Ward of Pauline Boty alongside some of her key Pop art paintings in editions of only 25 per image.
Notably, the works shown include Scandal 63 (the only surviving record of her painting based on Lewis Morley’s portrait of Christine Keeler, last seen in the 1960s) and With Love to Jean-Paul Belmondo (an early version of which appeared on the cover of Men Only in 1963 and sold for £1,159,500 at auction in 2022). Pauline Boty was also photographed by, among others, David Bailey, Lewis Morley, Michael Seymour and Roger Mayne and Ward’s images undoubtedly number amongst her best and most well-known portraits
In addition there are a small number of vintage silver gelatin prints by Ward available. Again, of note among these are Boty photographed alongside her lost work July 26, last seen in the 1968 BBC documentary The New Radicals.
“Untitled (‘Men Only’ cover shot), 1963/2023” by Michael Ward. Coloured C-print. Edition of 25. Courtesy of Elizabeth Seal-Ward for the Michael Ward Archive & Gazelli Art House
MICHAEL WARD (B. 1929; UK – D. 2011) Michael Ward rose to prominence as a photographer for the Evening Standard’s Show Page, capturing the emerging talents of his era, including luminaries such as Maggie Smith, Barbara Windsor, Jill Ireland, Jackie Collins, and Julie Christie. In the mid-1960s, Ward joined the Sunday Times where, alongside Bryan Wharton, he became one of the newspaper’s standout photographers. Their collaborative efforts extended beyond portraiture, to current events and news, including the Naples earthquake, the 1968 Paris riots, and the 1974 Turkish-Cypriot war. Ward’s extensive archive has been featured in exhibitions across Britain, with over fifty portraits spanning three decades housed in the National Portrait Gallery [biographical info courtesy of the Gazelli Art House website].
Further information For further information and high resolution previews of the images please click here: [link] Clicking on a thumbnail in each case provides detailed specifications, a scrollable preview and an Enquire button to request further information, including price and availability.
All images Copyright The Artist
Installation shot of the four C-prints by Michael Ward on display in the exhibition “Pauline Boty: a portrait”. The prints are displayed in front of a recreation of part of one of the collaged walls created by Boty. Image courtesy of Gazelli Art House
The section on Boty concludes the programme and starts at approximately 29:10. The BBC website describes the contents of this edition as follows:
“The extraordinary work of the artist Pauline Boty (1938 – 1966) is explored by the curator of a new exhibition, Mila Askarova, and the art historian Lynda Nead.
Paddington director Paul King returns with Wonka starring Timothée Chalamet in the title role. He talks with Samira about exploring the backstory of Willy Wonka and Roald Dahl’s surprising vision for fiction’s greatest confectioner.
Front Row rounds up the best non-fiction books of 2023 with Caroline Sanderson – non-fiction books editor for The Bookseller and chair of judges for the Baillie Gifford Prize in 2022, Stephanie Merritt – critic and novelist, and John Mitchinson – cofounder of Unbound, the independent crowdfunding publisher and co-presenter of literary podcast, Backlisted.” . The programme is available to listen to here [link]
Details Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Paula McGrath Released On: 6 Dec 2023 Available for over a year
Pauline Boty 