Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is among the significant women honoured in oils for the 'Empowering Her' exhibition

Actor and comedian Sally Phillips, most famous for her role in “Smack the Pony,” sits in front of a line of odd socks, representing her three neurodivergent children.

The sand at her feet references how much she travelled growing up, and how she now grounds herself with regular visits to the British seaside. Her ballerina skirt is a nod to the dance dreams she had as a child, and the hourglass by her feet symbolises the fear of time running out before she achieves her own storytelling and directing ambitions.

Captured in soft, warm, colourful brush strokes, the portrait reveals the depth of Sally’s achievements as a woman and mother, and offers an honest window into personal career insecurities – none of which are immediately visible in the success Sally has achieved in the public eye.

"There is a power in my eyes I have never seen before."

In contrast to the playful, colourful tones in Sally’s portrait, former political prisoner Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is captured looking directly at the viewer (when she saw the portrait, Nazanin said, “there is a power in my eyes I have never seen before”), set against an arresting light and dark composition. A central shaft of light spotlights the campaigner, who looks both powerful and serene, against shadowy mirror reflections, in reference to her coming into the light of freedom following her captivity. She wears a feminine dress (Nazanin’s love of textiles has recently led to a collaboration with Liberty of London and the Imperial War Museum) and sits next to origami birds – when Nazanin was in prison, she made origami birds with her daughter when she came to visit.

The portraits join a new collection of women-focused oil works by portrait artist Caroline de Peyrecave SWA (Society of Women Artists), to be shown in a new London exhibition, ‘Empowering Her.’ 

The exhibition seeks to honour, with depth and visibility, eight incredible women shaping Britain today across culture, sport, science and public life, and includes;

‘Held in Plain Sight’: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, campaigner and former political prisoner. 

‘Am I Funny?’: Sally Phillips, actor and comedian. 

‘Am I Enough?’: Daryl Fielding, advertising leader behind Dove’s Real Beauty campaign, founding member of Mad Women and author.

‘What Leadership Requires’: General Dame Sharon Nesmith, Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff (UK Defence).

‘Leading with Strength’: Zoe Stratford, England Rugby World Cup-winning captain and advocate for women in sport. 

‘Looking Beyond’: Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock, space scientist and science communicator.

‘Standing in My Truth’: Lady Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, LGBTQ+ activist and co-founder of UK Black Pride. 

‘Giving Voice’: Emma Barnett, broadcaster and journalist. 

Portraiture artist Caroline de Peyrecave said, “For years I’ve noticed how women’s achievements are softened, sidelined, or quietly absorbed into the background. Even for famous women, like the ones celebrated in the show, their role is often narrowed down to what they have achieved on the world stage – but as a woman, they are all holding down family, societal expectations, physical challenges, personal insecurities and ordinary life quietly and repeatedly. The show is not just a celebration of the women I have painted, although they are extraordinary; it is a show bringing visibility to all women – their roles in society and their unseen, and often unnoticed, private lives.”

‘Empowering Her,’ is an exhibition that seeks to confront who is seen, who is celebrated, and who has historically been left in the shadows when it comes to the discipline of portraiture.

Through a series of large-scale, finely rendered portraits, ‘Empowering Her’ reclaims portraiture as a space in which women’s stories are seen and their achievements honoured with the respect they merit. The work explores recognition, representation, and power, questioning whose stories are recorded, whose leadership is acknowledged, and whose experiences are overlooked.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe commented: “While I was imprisoned, I was made invisible in every possible way, so being seen now, on my own terms, matters deeply to me. Caroline’s work acknowledges women’s experience, resilience, and humanity, and I hope it reminds the world that women and girls, and their stories, matter even when people try to silence them.”

In addition to full-length portraits, the exhibition will also feature preparatory head and shoulders paintings (these have been gifted to the sitters), and still lives which contain a selection of symbolic objects intimately connected with the sitters (left) – these exclusive still lives will be available for sale.

Caroline trained at the Charles H. Cecil Studios in Florence, and her portraits bear the hallmarks of the old masters, and a history of art which traditionally immortalised only important men. The traditionalism of her painting style, which sculpts the face using masterly layers of oil, is combined with a lively warmth, testimony to the connection she makes with her sitters.

Caroline continues, “My identity as a female painter is significant. For a long time, women have largely been depicted through a male lens. Female artists bring a different kind of seeing, one shaped by lived experience, nuance and shared understanding. My ability to connect with my sitters is central to them being seen clearly through the portraits.”

The beautiful still lives which are for sale represent a unique opportunity to purchase a piece of contemporary fine art. Still lives start from £1,000, with all proceeds going to UN Women UK, contributing to programmes supporting all women and girls in the UK and around the world.

‘Empowering Her’ is an evolving body of work. Alongside the exhibition, a series of portrait-led workshops will take place at the gallery, with further workshops planned in community and corporate settings, and ambitions for future exhibitions and touring. It is hoped that the main portraits featured in the show become part of private collections.

All images courtesy of and supplied by Caroline de Peyrecave.