School Girl, Belfast

Catherine McWilliams painted School Girl, Belfast to highlight the isolation and the social strains of the Troubles .

“Other paintings showed the figure isolated in an overpowering and oppressive landscape; passive beings in a deprived and violent setting, reflected in paintings such as ‘School Girl, Belfast’ “
Catherine McWillams

“To some extent this figure personifies the autobiographical nature of McWilliams’ work, but also highlights the growing reality for many whose partners, as she puts it, were ‘behind bars’. Such women, she commented, ‘have to pick up the pieces left by violence at the end of the day, in keeping their families together.’ 3 School Girl) Belfast, 1974, illustrates how these social strains affected even children. ”
S.B. Kennedy