Erica Rutherford was a multifaceted artist with a richly diverse creative background, studying theater arts, costume and set
design, illustration, sculpture, and more before settling into a practice consisting of painting and printmaking. Her vibrant and
graphic compositions depict everything from landscapes to still lives, however, her singular experimentation with self-portraiture
began when she transitioned in the 70s, demonstrating a simultaneous internal and external exploration of her identity. The anonymous and poised feminine figures speak to embodied discomfort, just as the bold colors and frontal poses force the viewer to pay attention to her work, and by extension, her.

As one of the earliest openly transgender British artists, Erica Rutherford, a Slade School of Fine Art classmate of founding members of the Independent Group, critiques mass media and explores gender construction and agency.