Pauline Barbieri is a British artist and poet. She grew up in Liverpool and then ventured off to America. She writes ‘Some years later, and realizing how little I knew of European art, I left America and went to live in Italy. It was there in 1971 that I met William. We were introduced by an English guide who lived in Chelsea. We set out to discover the treasures of Italy and fell in love.

I returned to England but within a very short time, I went to live in Holland and there we were married in Rotterdam. We spent the next 10 years discovering the art of Holland France Belgium Germany and Spain. We studied Breughel’s proverbs, Erasmus’ writings and our favourite painter Hieronymus Bosch, visiting his birthplace and church. It was at this time that will William started the copy of the middle panel of the temptation of Saint Anthony.
After about eight years I started to feel very homesick. We decided to return to England in the 80s and lived there for 40 years in the three-story artisan dwelling, attached to a mill, in the seaside town of Eastbourne.

We continue to study, write and travel to various countries including the Australian Outback, the American Canyon lands and the gambling centre of Las Vegas as we both enjoyed the circus, the fairgrounds and later, theme parks which figure so prominently in much of Willem’s work.

After, together spending 100 years of creative endeavour, we had our body of work. Willem demanded everything of me and I demanded everything of him and he gave me everything and I gave him everything. I think it was in an attempt to show people you don’t have to live a mundane kind of life. You can choose a different one and survive. You just need courage.’