The Multiple Selves of Pat Douthwaite

Abstract

The Scottish painter Pat Douthwaite (1934–2002) has often been dismissed as a ‘troubled’ artist, known for her dark and nightmarish scenes. Her unique style, however, remains unparalleled in Scottish post-war painting. Focusing on her paintings of women from the 1960s to early 1980s, this article explores Douthwaite’s examination of the self and the construction of womanhood through her production of covert self-portraits.