Out of the Cage: The Art of Isabel Rawsthorne

This comprehensive, illustrated biography unveils Isabel Rawsthorne, a pivotal figure in mid-20th-century British art. Rawsthorne's painting career, centered in Paris and London's avant-garde scenes, was overshadowed by her friends' depictions of her, notably Epstein, Derain, Giacometti, Picasso, and Bacon. A pioneering artist who exhibited since the 1930s and was influential in the 1940s, Rawsthorne's fame grew in her later years due to Giacometti's and Bacon's biographies. Her work is now in major collections, and this beautifully illustrated book redefines pre- and post-war art history, tracing Rawsthorne's journey through the 20th century's upheavals and her unique relationships with notable figures. A decade of research reveals her role in a rebel group at Liverpool School of Art, her experiences as Jacob Epstein's studio assistant in the 1930s, lifelong collaborations with Alberto Giacometti, and her work with Francis Bacon and African Modernism in the 1960s. It also details her wartime break from art, working for the government in black propaganda.