Phyllida Barlow (1944– ) grew up in post-war Britain. Her father, the psychiatrist Erasmus Darwin Barlow, was the great-grandson of Charles Darwin. She graduated from Slade School of Fine Art
Read morePhyllida Barlow
Rebecca Horn
Rebecca Horn (1944– ) is a multidisciplinary artist whose work encompasses sculpture, body art, paintings, films and poetry. Born in Michelstadt, Germany, she went to boarding school as a child.
Read moreAnnette Messager
Annette Messager (1943– ) was born in Berck-sur-Mer in northern France and was encouraged to pursue art from a young age by her father who was an architect and amateur
Read moreSenga Nengudi
Senga Nengudi (1943– ) adopted her name in 1974 to suit her politics of African-American empowerment. She was born in Chicago, Illinois as Sue Irons. Following the death of her
Read moreJudith Cohen
Judith Cohen (1939– ) was born in Chicago, Illinois, to a family of Jewish socialists. She began drawing at the age of three. From 1947, she attended art classes at
Read moreEva Hesse
Eva Hesse (1936–1970) was a German-American artist who had a short but exceptional career. Born in Hamburg into a Jewish family, Hesse was forced to flee Germany during the rise
Read moreElisabeth Frink
Elisabeth Frink (1930–1993) was born in the village of Great Thurlow, Suffolk. Her father was an officer in the Dragoon Guards and her childhood in the countryside influenced her choice
Read moreNiki de Saint Phalle
Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, Catherine-Marie-Agnès Fal (1930–2002) known as Niki de Saint Phalle was a French-American sculptor who created large-scale, colourful statues of voluptuous women known as “Nanas” and fantasy
Read moreYayoi Kusama
Yayoi Kusama (1929– ) is a Japanese painter, sculptor and installation artist who is often referred to as “the princess of the polka dots” due to her obsession with spots.
Read moreAlina Szapocznikow
Born in Kalisz, Poland, to a Jewish family, Alina Szapocznikow (1926–1973) survived internment in a concentration camp as a teenager. Following World War II, she trained as a sculptor in
Read moreRuth Aiko Asawa
Ruth Aiko Asawa (1926–2013) was a Japanese-American artist who specialized in elaborate hanging forms using hand-looped wire. Born in Norwalk, California, the fourth of seven children to her Japanese-born parents
Read moreLouise Bourgeois
Louise Bourgeois (1911–2010) was born in Paris, the middle child of three children. The family lived on Boulevard Saint Germain, where they sold restored antique tapestries. Bourgeois’s father was drafted
Read more