Rose Wylie: The Nonagenarian Artist Defying Convention
At 92 years old, Rose Wylie has been officially billed as a "rebel artist" by the Royal Academy for her forthcoming solo exhibition. This show marks a significant milestone, as it is the first solo exhibition by a British woman to occupy all of the academy's main galleries. Wylie, who has lived in her 17th-century house in Sittingbourne, Kent for over six decades, finds there is still much to rebel against, particularly an establishment that has long underrated women's work.
A Studio Ethos Built on Work, Not Cleanup
Wylie's studio is a testament to her unique approach. The space is thickly carpeted with newspaper pages, creating a soft surface that she insists is better for a painter's back than concrete. She is adamant that visitors understand her philosophy: "You don't come in and clean up. You come in and work." This environment was so compelling that a Korean team photographed it inch by inch before the pandemic and recreated it in Seoul. During lockdown, Wylie watched superbly dressed women post pictures from this replica studio on Instagram, noting the "marvellous contrast."
From Obscurity to International Acclaim
For much of her life, Wylie was underestimated—as a wife, mother, and late starter. She studied at Folkestone and Dover Art School in the 1950s but then took a 20-year hiatus to raise her three children. Her big break came remarkably late, at age 76 in 2010, when she was selected for a group show at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington DC. That same year, Germaine Greer visited her studio, an encounter that proved pivotal. Since then, her giant, wild, and witty canvases have gained international recognition, with works hanging in Los Angeles, Cologne, and Ghent. Her painting Black Strap (Red Fly), featuring Nicole Kidman in a Kent community center, sold for £220,500 in 2021.
Art Driven by Fun and Mental Leaps
Wylie's work is not driven by theme or autobiography but by images she finds interesting, whether from Roman mosaics, television, or early Renaissance art. It is the vast mental leaps she makes that infuse her paintings with energy and wit. For instance, a curving footpath in her garden transforms into a gun, which then becomes a tribute to Werner Herzog's 2009 film My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?. In another work, second world war bombs fly over a desert—a historical inaccuracy she acknowledges with a chuckle, adding a black duck and two women on the bomb wings "for fun."
Footballers, Fences, and Future Ambitions
Wylie's interests are eclectic. She and her late husband, painter Roy Oxlade, used to watch Match of the Day together, sparking her fascination with footballers. She prefers them either "monumental" or "wispy," having painted figures like Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry, and Peter Crouch. Recently, a new fence installed by a neighbor inspired a bold diptych titled Jumbo Meat Chopper, which she describes with delight. Looking ahead, Wylie is working until 3am on a Paris show and dreams of being in all major museums worldwide. "I want to be part of the history of visual culture," she declares.
Her current project involves reimagining Henri Rousseau's Unpleasant Surprise, replacing the naked woman with a clothed Bette Davis, whom she praises for her "slub of a mouth" and fun quality. As she continues to paint with mischief and ambition, Rose Wylie proves that creativity knows no age limits, and rebellion can be both playful and profound.
