Cecily Brown (b. 1969) is a leading British Contemporary painter. Creating paintings that appear to be in constant flux, alive with the energy of her expressive application and vivid color, Brown’s work seamlessly shifts between abstract and figurative modes, referencing masters of Western painting. However, her work breaks from traditional narrative structures and redefines conventional subjects, through her vigorous treatment of the nude figure. Raised in Suburban Surrey, England, Brown studied under painter Maggi Hambling before attending art college. She graduated from the Slade School of Fine Art, at the same time the Young British Artists emerged, though she did not share their conceptual focus. After spending six months in New York as an exchange student, she decided to stay and worked alongside her contemporary, John Currin. Over the past twenty years, Brown’s work has evolved, expanding in scale, palette, and incorporating elements of landscape. She is also known for reworking paintings over years, reflecting the intense push and pull they embody.

Brown has had solo exhibitions at institutions including the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Hirhhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC, and and Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid. In 2018-19, the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark presented an overview of her career, and she exhibited two large paintings in the main hall of the Metropolitan Opera, New York.