Pauline Boty: British Pop Art's Sole Sister

Pauline Boty, born in Croydon on 6 March 1938, was the only acknowledged female member of the British Pop Art movement. After a scholarship to Wimbledon School of Art in 1954, she studied stained glass at the Royal College of Art, graduating in 1958. Her early work, like 'Gershwin' (1961), used geometric panels and vibrant hues. Later pieces such as 'The Only Blonde in the World' (1963) critiqued misogyny through images of Marilyn Monroe. Her series 'It's a Man's World I and II' (1964-66) contrasted active male figures with passive female depictions. Boty also appeared on 'Ready Steady Go!', wrote poetry, and acted in 'Alfie'. Diagnosed with cancer while pregnant in 1965, she refused treatment and died at 28, four months after giving birth. Her work remained unseen until the early 1990s when it resurfaced at her brother's estate in Kent.