This is the first fully illustrated monograph of Barbara Rae's career to date. One of Britain's outstanding contemporary painters, Rae is a Royal Academician and the recipient of numerous awards including two doctorates and Commander of the British Empire (CBE). Known for their use of bright and contrasting colour, Rae's paintings combine the influence of landscape and travel with painterly abstraction. Many of her paintings can be found in public collections, including the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh; the Whitworth, Manchester; Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin and the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington.<BR>In an extensive interview by Andrew Lambirth, Rae reveals the fascinating secrets of what goes on in her studio, such as throwing buckets of water at her paintings and working on large scale pictures on the floor; letting them accumulate splatters as part of their 'life'. An essay by Bill Hare situates the work in its twentieth and twenty-first century contexts. The contribution of the authors combined with the extensive illustrations ensure that this book is an important and engaging homage to the life and work of this extraordinary painter.