Cecily Brown is known for her visceral and exuberant depictions of the body, nature and historical subjects, teetering between figuration and abstraction in lushly fragmented mash-ups that tap deep into art history and popular culture. Grand in scale and richly referential, these kaleidoscopic works have established Brown as one of the most esteemed painters of her generation.
Born in London, Brown found an early mentor in the artist Maggi Hambling, who encouraged her to paint and to take a degree at the Slade School of Art. But soon after graduating in 1994, Brown moved to New York, feeling little affinity with the burgeoning Young British Artists scene, which she described as a “closed club”. Four years later, Brown was taken up by Larry Gagosian and swiftly propelled to art stardom, soon becoming one of the few female artists whose works sell for more than $1m. She left Gagosian in 2014 but her reputation has continued to flourish. Now Brown has made a new body of work especially for Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough and the birthplace of Winston Churchill...