Delia Brown

In masterfully executing her narrative scenes in a realist style, Delia Brown places content over formal considerations. In the tradition of 19th-century genre paintings, Brown raises class issues and related concerns that dominate the political discourse in difficult economic times. Yet, a soft beauty characterizes her depictions of the upper class carrying out their privileged lives—cruising on yachts, drinking champagne in pools overlooking the ocean, posing in their luxurious homes beside recognizable works of art—rendering them more a documentation of the way certain people live rather than judgments on their character. "My paintings are so much about living a fantasy life—not necessarily one you actually aspire to because it's out of line with your ethics—but one that's alluring on other levels," she explains.