Self-Portrait

(Paperback)

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A unique work of art and literature- a profound, intimate and deeply personal memoir told through words and images, by one of the most important British painters working today. 'Painfully honest on what it means to be a woman who puts art first, no matter what' Olivia Laing I'm not a portrait painter. If I'm anything, I have always been an autobiographer. In Self-Portrait, Celia Paul reveals a life truly lived through art. She moves effortlessly through time, in words and images, from her arrival at the Slade School of Fine Art at sixteen, through a profound and intense affair with the older and better-known artist Lucian Freud, to the practices of her present-day studio. This intimate memoir is, at its heart, about a young woman navigating the path to artistic freedom, with all the sacrifices and complications that entails. 'Powerful' Zadie Smith 'Engrossing' Vogue 'Captivating... Mesmerising' New York Times **Shortlisted for the Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize **

Reviews

Captivating... Mesmerizing... Paul's powers of observation are keen and often ruthless. -- Jennifer Szalai * New York Times *
A poetic, sometimes painfully honest memoir. -- Tim Adams * Observer *
I loved the painter Celia Pauls memoir Self-Portrait. Its fascinating for its account of her long-term lover Lucian Freud (he emerges as the ultimate man-baby, by turns charismatic, needy and breathtakingly selfish), but its also painfully honest on what it means to be a woman who puts art first, no matter what. -- Olivia Laing * New Statesman *
The publication of this, her first book, is of great significance... Having recently returned to writing again, she has found a new confidence, in words, in herself and in her painting... No longer wanting to remain simply a part of Freuds story, she wanted to make him part of her story, a narrative about her life as a painter. ... Pauls memoir therefore seems fresh, and comes as a surprise. -- Frances Spalding * Guardian, *Book of the Week* *
A story of obsession and manipulation that sends our feelings on a rollercoaster... [Self-Portrait] turns into a sort of myth about the misuse of fame and the male ego, about the struggles faced by creative women, about the body in all its guises. Like a myth, it unfolds with confusions and contradictions, a terrible inevitability and many, many discomfiting truths. -- Jan Dalley * Financial Times *

Author Bio

Celia Paul is recognised as one of the most important painters working in Britain today. She was born in India in 1959, before moving to England as a young child. Her major solo exhibitions include Celia Paul, curated by Hilton Als, at Yale Center for British Art (2018) and The Huntington (2019); Desdemona for Celia by Hilton, Gallery Met, New York (2015-16); and Gwen John and Celia Paul, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester (2012-13). Her work was included in the group exhibition All Too Human at Tate Britain (2018), and is in many collections, including the British Museum, National Portrait Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum, Saatchi Collection and Metropolitan Museum, New York.