The Policeman’s Daughter, for which this drawing is a study, belongs to a series of four paintings completed by Paula Rego in 1987. The series addresses family relationships in the context of the Portuguese dictatorship, Estado Novo. In Study for The Policeman's Daughter, the presence of the father and policeman – a figure of combined patriarchal and state authority – is evoked in the large boot, which his young daughter is earnestly cleaning. The sparse interior is inspired by Rego's family home in Ericeira, Portugal. Outside the open window, Rego uses a simple horizon line to depict the Atlantic Ocean. Allegorical props are typical in her work; here, a small toy fortress on the floor symbolises the experience of entrapment. Rego grew up under the authoritarian Estado Novo regime, and its conservative ideological framework shaped the anti-patriarchal impetus behind her art.

Study for The Policeman's Daughter is executed with ink and wash in a range of brown and orange shades. Rego uses different styles of marks to achieve texture and movement. The sketchy outlines of the young girl convey kinetic energy, while the dense lines in the body of the boot suggest its immobile solidity. Throughout her career, Rego exhibited many of her drawings, insisting that “Good drawings are more intensely alive than any other art.” For Study for the Policeman's Daughter, she asked her second daughter, Victoria Willing, to pose. The resulting painting (private collection), in which the toy fortress is replaced by a black cat, was widely acclaimed and launched Rego’s career on an international stage.

The artist’s estate; purchased by The Samuel Courtauld Trust, 2025