Celebrating Rose Wylie: iconic works by one of Britain’s greatest female artists’ is now on display

From February 28th to April 19th, 2026, Burlington House hosts Rose Wylie: The Picture Comes First, the largest exhibition of the celebrated British artist to date. This ambitious survey brings together Wylie’s most iconic paintings alongside previously unseen works, offering an immersive look into her playful, irreverent, and visually rich practice.

Exploring the world through Wylie’s eyes

Wylie’s paintings are filled with references to cinema, literature, celebrity culture and historical figures. Her cast of characters includes Elizabeth I, Nicole Kidman, Marilyn Monroe, Serena Williams and Snow White, often intertwined with personal memories of her childhood during the Blitz. Works such as Rosemount (Coloured), 1999, and Wing Tips and Blue Doodlebugs, (2022-2023), reveal her fascination with memory, history, and the everyday, blending humour with acute observation.

The exhibition also showcases Wylie’s Film Notes series, in which cinematic scenes, such as those from Kill Bill (Film Notes, 2007) and Natural Born Killers (Long Shot, Film Notes, 2018), are reimagined on canvas from various angles, demonstrating her distinctive approach to capturing motion, memory, and narrative in painting.

Works on paper and the creative process

Drawing is central to Wylie’s practice. Sketchbooks and works on paper, such as Bottom Teeth, Self-Portrait, 2016, and Hand: Drawing as Central, 2022, reveal her meticulous observation of everyday life. These studies act as a visual memory bank, later transformed into bold compositions on canvas where ordinary objects, cats, friends, or garden scenes gain new life in a striking, playful visual language.

One of the famous British female artists in focus

One of the most compelling and famous British female artists, Rose Wylie only began painting seriously in her fifties, but quickly established herself as a cultural icon. Her work celebrates spontaneity, humour and tactile engagement, often emphasising bold colours and thickly applied paint. The exhibition culminates in monumental monochromatic animal paintings, crafted directly with her hands, which demonstrate Wylie’s belief that the picture comes first — process and intuition over convention.

With her studio in Kent and collaborations spanning the art and fashion worlds, this exhibition at Burlington House cements Rose Wylie’s place as a pivotal figure in contemporary British art.