Adored Image
Marina Warner | London Review of Books | 9th June 2026
A profile of the British artist Celia Paul. Much of Paul’s art portrays her mother and sisters in intense, focused images that offer little other than the subject. They seem to reflect Paul’s disciplined personality and ascetic work habits. Indeed, are they portraits or rather a kind of self-portraiture –the “depth and mystery” she finds in her subjects becoming a form of self-exploration? Paul’s most recent work has a lighter mood, indicating “she holds to the value of what she chose and the way she has continued to live”.