Today’s time machine takes us to London in the 1960s… and then a strange rerouting to San Fransisco in early the 2000’s? Yep. Stay with me.
This is the work of British artist Pauline Boty {1938-1966} whose paintings and collages “often demonstrated a joy in self-assured femininity and female sexuality, as well as criticism (both overt and implicit) of the "man's world" in which she lived. Her rebellious art, combined with her free-spirited lifestyle, has made Boty a herald of 1970s' feminism.” Yeah they did!
Amazing! And that was going to be where today’s story ended… but then I discovered Pauline died at the very young age of 28. I wanted to know what cut this unapologetic artist’s life short, so I did some research and was shocked to hear how similar Pauline’s story was to another of my favorite artists, American artist Margaret Kilgallen {1967-2001}. A very well-known Bay Area artist, Margaret was only 33 years old when she passed away in 2001. She was diagnosed with breast cancer early in her pregnancy, and refused treatment in order to protect her baby girl. A few weeks after her daughter was born, Margaret died. Three decades earlier, Pauline had also been diagnosed with cancer during a prenatal exam, and just like Margaret, Pauline refused treatment. Pauline Boty died in July of 1966 when her daughter was just five months old.
Two trail blazing artists. Two fiercely protective mothers. Two inspirational women.
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