Paula Rego, pioneering artist who championed women's rights, dead at 87

In career spanning 70 years, the late Portuguese-British artist Paula Rego created bold, visceral works inspired by fairy tales, her homeland and her own life. Photo: AP

Portuguese artist Paula Rego, who challenged gender stereotypes and denounced abuses of power in often visceral paintings infused with sombre fantasies and magic realism, died in London on June 8 at the age of 87 after a short illness.

"Portuguese culture has lost one of its most important and irreverent creators, someone who distinguished herself as a woman, human being and artist," said Carlos Carreiras, mayor of the town of Cascais, home to a museum dedicated to Rego's work.