The work of Paula Rego is united by the consistency and coherence of its themes as well as by its own, very distinct, identity. Since the end of the 1950s when Rego was still a student at the Slade, her work has demonstrated an almost compulsive need for renewal, taking the form of identifiable series of work that are clearly defined in time. Rego is an artist, non—conforming and dissatisfied, who has survived every break with the past and is reborn with each new experimental state.