‘Her legacy is still being written’
You don’t have to be an expert in art to have heard of Pop-Art artists Andy Warhol, Peter Blake and David Hockney. Some people could even pick out pieces of their work, but very few – even those who think they know a thing or two about that world – have ever heard of Pauline Boty. But Camberwell entrepreneur Mark Baxter has and he is part of a team that is making a film about her eventful but sadly short life, writes Michael Holland.
I asked how the film came about: ‘I heard a play on Resonance Radio called ‘The Last Days of Pauline Boty’, written by Vincent Rawding, and I was intrigued by her story. The quality of the writing was one of the best things I had ever heard and I still think that. I had worked previously with Vinny, so I knew the stamp of the man and that he was a grafter, so I contacted, asked him to write a script for a documentary and we set to work.’
Setting to work meant getting the right people together to produce this film. Bermondsey-based Natalie Gibson MBE (Nat the Cat) was one of Boty’s best friends, so she was in. Lee Cogswell, who Mark has worked with many times before will be filming and directing; then Jim Reid and Alan Marke, whose Channel X company make the award-winning The Detectorists, came aboard.
Now the hard work of researching their subject began. There are just a few books on the artist. Mark says, ‘Finding information was difficult at the start but once you start, worlds open up and people begin to contact you with stories, ideas and photos…Vinny(Rawding) had done a lot of research for his radio show, so we had the basis of the story.’
The first interview was Nat the Cat. ‘Natalie has a very enviable contact book of the elder statesmen and women of the UK arts and culture scene, so once she made a few contacts on our behalf, people felt safe and comfortable about talking to us.’
Who did you get in the film? ‘Celia Birtwell, wife of designer Ossie Clarke, comedienne Jenni Eclair, Jim Moir (Vic Reeves), artist Derek Boshier, Kate Bryan, the art correspondent for Sky Arts, and Bridget Boty, sister in law to Pauline who is now in her 80s and head of the family and estate.’
Have you got enough for a film? ‘With the resources and people we managed to unearth, I don’t think there is anything we don’t know about her.’
You have been making your film for some time now, how has your opinion of her changed since you began the project? ‘Interesting question. When I first started I had her down as a bit of a “good time girl” who was undoubtedly very talented, but who certainly enjoyed herself in the Swinging Sixties. Gradually, however, she has been revealed as a very bright, intelligent young woman, who led the way for women in art in that decade, and whose life was cruelly cut short by cancer in 1966, aged just 28. Her work then disappeared from view in general for 30-odd years before the bulk of it was discovered at Bridget Boty’s farm. A recent sale of her painting, ‘With Love to Jean Paul Belmondo’, saw it reach over a million pounds. Pauline is now most definitely a sought after artist and the hunt is on for her ‘lost’ work. Her legacy is still being written.’
Why was she not more recognised while she was alive? Was she held back by being a woman? ‘Definitely. Despite being a very talented artist, she wasn’t allowed into the painting school at the Royal College of Art in 1958 when she applied and instead had to begin studying and designing stained glass. Her talent and personality finally gained her access. I think resistance to Pauline was a futile gesture.’
How did she break through those inequality barriers? ‘By sheer force of her nature and talent, I’d say. She knew what she wanted to do and achieve and she went for it. She wasn’t shy in using her good looks to further her career, but always under her own terms. She took control of that very early on and was savvy enough to eventually make that work for her.’
Having interviewed the Sky Arts art correspondent, does that mean you’ve got an in to a TV broadcasting of the film? ‘I am constantly baffled by the lack of support from our main broadcasters for cultural figures here in the UK’ begins Mark, not looking happy. ‘We tried to get a commission for the film three times and failed each time. We also failed to get funding from the BFI. Obviously it is their prerogative to say no, but it appears to go deeper than that. It seems to there is no budget available to fund one-off documentaries. Instead they are looking to make series pieces often with a celeb face involved. So, consequently, many names from across the board here in the UK, who have a fascinating back story are left out in the cold. At the very best we are told “show us it when you have finished it and we may acquire it”… Of course, I already know that if they take the film, they will pay far less than what it cost us to make.’
I was lost for words at hearing this, but Mr Baxter was not.
‘So why bother? I hear you ask, and in some ways I agree, but fundamentally I come from the viewpoint that once the story is told and out there it will be well received’
Why? ‘Why? Because we know we are ahead of the curve with this Boty film. She is already being rediscovered and that will continue at a pace for a few more years yet. In some ways, we are waiting for others to catch up.’
I had used up all my questions but I knew that would never be a problem for Mark Baxter: ‘Due to a lack of support with our film on Pauline Boty from the UK TV companies, we have had to self finance this film and that has slowed down the process of getting it made.’
The lack of support meant the film took a while to complete but the team got there in the end and a world premiere has finally been confirmed:
14:00 on Thursday 13 June in the Nevill Holt Theatre. This will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Dr Sue Tate, Natalie Gibson, Chila Kumari Singh Burman, Louisa Buck, Vinny Rawding and Lee Cogswell.”
Booking and details: https://nevillholtfestival.com/whats-on/