Paule VézelayConstruction. Grey Lines on Pink Ground 1938

Vézelay has been described as one of the first British artists to commit herself to abstraction. Born Marjorie Watson-Williams, she settled in Paris in 1926. She adopted the name Paule Vézelay to declare her internationalism and hide the fact that she was a woman. This work is based on what she saw as the most basic artistic language: curved and straight lines. It shows how these simple forms can suggest both space and movement.