Casa das Histórias Paula Rego

Paula Rego, born in Lisbon in 1935 and working mostly in London until her death in 2022, made figurative paintings and pastels of unusual directness - fairy tales turned menacing, women in postures of power and humiliation, and the Abortion series of 1998-99, made after a Portuguese referendum failed to legalise the procedure, showing women alone during illegal terminations. Those pictures were credited with shifting opinion before the second referendum passed in 2007. The museum was built for her work by Eduardo Souto de Moura and opened in 2009: two tall red-pigmented concrete pyramids over a low block, the pyramids referencing the chimneys of Portuguese palace kitchens, set among pines. It holds a large collection of her paintings, prints and pastels along with work by her husband Victor Willing, and runs temporary exhibitions.

What you actually see

• The building - Souto de Moura's red concrete pyramids among pines, from 2009.
• The collection - a large holding of Rego's paintings, pastels and prints.
• The Abortion series - the 1998-99 works credited with shifting a national referendum.
• Victor Willing - work by Rego's husband shown alongside hers.

When to go

Year-round. One to two hours. Closed Mondays. Quiet compared with Cascais's seafront a few minutes away.

Honest expectations

Rego's subject matter is confronting - violence, abortion, coercion - and it is not a gentle visit. The permanent display rotates, so specific works may not be up. The building is often photographed more than the art. A short walk from the Cascais centre.

Nearby

Cascais old town and the citadel are a short walk; Boca do Inferno is west.