Cecily Brown

Key facts

Born

1969, British

Movements

• Contemporary
• Abstract Expressionism

Works held in

5 museums^[1]

Plan your visit to see Cecily Brown →

• What is Cecily Brown known for?+

  According to her biography, Cecily Brown is known for her large-scale, gestural paintings. Her canvases often depict fragmented figures and scenes, blurring the lines between representation and abstraction.
• What is Cecily Brown's most famous work?+

  It is difficult to name Cecily Brown's single 'most famous' work, as her notability arises from her overall style and body of work. However, some paintings have drawn particular attention and acclaim. Brown's large-scale, gestural paintings often evoke comparisons to historical masters. Her allusive, sensual paintings frequently contain partially obscured figures and painterly abstraction. Her work explores themes of sexuality, memory, and the human form. Some notable examples include 'The Sleep Around and the Lost and Found' (1999), and 'Suddenly Last Summer' (2003). These paintings are characterised by energetic brushwork and a layering of colours, creating a sense of movement and depth. Brown's paintings are held in the collections of many major museums, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, and the Tate Gallery, London.
• What should I know about Cecily Brown's prints?+

  Cecily Brown is known for paintings that evoke both abstract expressionism and figurative art. Born in London in 1969, she studied at the Slade School of Art before moving to New York in the mid-1990s. Her prints often share similar qualities with her paintings. Brown's prints frequently feature layered marks and allusions to the Old Masters. Critics have noted references to painters such as Rubens, Poussin, and Delacroix in her compositions. These art-historical references are filtered through a contemporary lens. While her paintings are typically large in scale, her prints offer a more accessible format for collecting her work. She has worked with printmaking techniques including etching, lithography, and screen printing. These prints are often produced in collaboration with specialist workshops and publishers. Her prints allow collectors to acquire works that demonstrate her engagement with colour, form, and art history, but at a different scale and price point than her paintings.
• What style or movement did Cecily Brown belong to?+

  Cecily Brown's style is often associated with Neo-Expressionism, a movement that gained traction in the late 1970s. This style represented a return to figurative painting, in opposition to the conceptual and minimalist approaches that had become dominant. Neo-Expressionism is characterised by its bold, emotive approach, often utilising unusual techniques. The paintings are typically large in scale, with crude, textural surfaces and discordant colours. The movement, initiated by Georg Baselitz, saw a revival of Expressionism while rejecting traditional composition. Brown's work also shows the influence of the New York School, a post-World War II movement that included artists such as Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock. These artists favoured large-scale abstract works with aggressive brushstrokes, a characteristic that can be seen in Brown's paintings. Subjectivity and gesture were central to this movement, which explored themes of human impulse.
• What techniques or materials did Cecily Brown use?+

  Cecily Brown uses oil paint applied to canvas with brushes and painting knives. Brice Marden, in a description of his own methods, mentions priming cotton duck canvas with two coats of turps-thinned Flake White, sanding the surface when dry. He mixes standard artist's oil paint with a medium of wax and turpentine, kept warm on a hot plate. The mixture is applied with a brush and worked with a painting spatula and a small painting knife. Marden notes that oil remains the primary binder, as opposed to encaustic where wax is the binder. Paul James notes the importance of using artist-quality paints for colour saturation and stability. He prefers filberts and flats, ranging from small to large hog hair brushes, avoiding synthetic brushes because they lack the springy resistance of hog hair against the canvas. He uses gessoed MDF, primed canvas stuck to MDF, and primed canvas as grounds, and finds it rewarding to prime and stretch his own canvases.
• What was Cecily Brown known for?+

  Cecily Brown is known for her large-scale paintings that evoke both Abstract Expressionism and figuration. Born in London in 1969, she studied at the Slade School of Art before moving to New York in the mid-1990s. Brown's early work often featured overtly sexual content and drew comparisons to artists such as Francis Bacon and Willem de Kooning. Her paintings are characterised by energetic brushwork, complex layering, and a distinctive use of colour. Though abstract, her compositions often suggest fragmented bodies, food, and still-life elements. Critics have noted Brown's engagement with the history of painting. She references Old Master paintings, reinterpreting classical themes through a contemporary lens. Brown's work explores themes of desire, consumption, and the act of painting itself. She has had solo exhibitions at museums internationally, solidifying her position in contemporary art. Her art remains highly sought after by collectors.
• When did Cecily Brown live and work?+

  Cecily Brown is a contemporary English painter, born in London in 1969. She is known for her large-scale, gestural paintings that often allude to the Old Masters. Brown studied at the Slade School of Art in London, graduating in 1993. In 1994, she moved to New York City, where she continues to live and work. Her early work often featured overtly sexual content, rendered in a loose, painterly style. Over time, her paintings have become more abstract, though still retaining figurative elements. Brown's work engages with art history, drawing inspiration from painters such as Rubens, Goya, and de Kooning. She reinterprets historical themes and motifs through a contemporary lens. Her paintings are characterised by their energetic brushwork, complex layering, and a distinctive use of colour. She has had solo exhibitions at museums and galleries internationally, establishing herself as a significant figure in contemporary painting.
• Where can I see Cecily Brown's work?+

  Cecily Brown's paintings have been exhibited in many major museums and galleries internationally. While a comprehensive list of current exhibitions is subject to change, several institutions have displayed her work in the past and may hold pieces in their permanent collections. In the United Kingdom, Tate Modern and Tate Britain are possibilities. These galleries sometimes organise displays thematically, rather than chronologically; this means works are grouped by subject matter, and such displays may include Brown's paintings. Elsewhere, museums such as the Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon, or the J. Paul Getty Center in Los Angeles, are examples of public benefaction on the part of collectors. These have led to the endowment of important museums and have enabled the preservation of collections. Examining their catalogues, or visiting their websites, may provide information on current holdings or upcoming exhibitions that include Cecily Brown's pieces. Auction houses also periodically offer artworks for sale, so their catalogues can be another resource.
• Who did Cecily Brown influence?+

  Cecily Brown's impact on other artists is difficult to measure directly. Influence is complex, and tracing it requires careful analysis. Brown's work, with its energetic brushwork and allusions to art history, has certainly resonated with many contemporary painters. Some art critics have noted similarities between Brown's style and that of younger artists exploring similar themes of figuration and abstraction. However, direct influence is hard to prove without explicit statements from the artists themselves. It is more accurate to say that Brown is part of a larger movement in contemporary painting, one that re-examines the possibilities of the medium. She is in dialogue with other artists, both living and historical, and her work contributes to a broader conversation about the nature of painting today. Her impact may be more about setting an example, and demonstrating one way to navigate the challenges of painting in the 21st century, than about direct stylistic imitation.
• Who influenced Cecily Brown?+

  Cecily Brown's influences include a range of artists and movements. Analytic Cubism, especially the work of Braque and Picasso, was formative. She also studied early Kandinsky and Miró, alongside Matisse and Mondrian. She analysed the structure of paintings by Cézanne (such as *The Card Players*, 1890-92) and Mondrian, as well as works by Léger and Old Masters. In the 1950s, she followed Matisse and appreciated his work. By 1950-51, Pollock, de Kooning and Rothko of the New York School became her mentors. She saw Arshile Gorky's 1947 *Agony* and 1944 *The Liver Is the Cock's Comb* at his 1951 Whitney exhibition. She also saw many of Pollock's 1940s works during that period. She saw works by Still, Rothko and Newman at Betty Parsons's gallery. In the later 1950s and early 1960s, she was moved by Louis's *Veils* and *Unfurleds*, and Noland's targets and chevrons.
• Who was Cecily Brown?+

  Cecily Brown (born 1969) is a British painter working in New York. She is known for large-scale canvases with layered brushstrokes and blurred forms. Her paintings often allude to art-historical subjects, such as the work of Rubens, Poussin, and Delacroix. Brown studied at the Slade School of Art in London. Early in her career, she made paintings of sexually explicit subjects, often featuring rabbits. These paintings gained attention in the New York art world of the late 1990s. Since then, Brown's work has moved away from overt sexual content. Her more recent paintings suggest figures and objects submerged in painterly abstraction. The surfaces of these works have complex relationships between colour and gesture. She has had solo exhibitions at museums including the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, and the Museum of Modern Art in Oxford. Her work is held in many public collections, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and Tate Modern in London.
• Why are Cecily Brown's works important today?+

  Cecily Brown (born 1969) is a British painter whose work has contributed to the revival of interest in figural art during recent decades. This is a trend exemplified by Lucian Freud, who remained active until his death in 2011, and Jenny Saville. Abstraction remains a valid approach to painting in the 21st century, as does traditional figural art. Saville is known for self-portraits that exaggerate the body. Her nude self-portraits offer commentary on the contemporary obsession with fashion models. In *Branded* (1992), Saville uses words inscribed in her flesh to make a statement about imperfect bodies. Similarly, Kiki Smith explores who controls the human body, revealing the socially constructed nature of the body. Smith encourages viewers to consider how external forces shape perceptions. These artists address contemporary issues through their representation of the human form.