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Teresa Thornhill’s new book Sheila: Portrait of an Unknown Artist will be published by Dornberger Books on 29 January 2026.

Sheila: Portrait of an Unknown Artist is an intimate examination of the life and work of SHEILA DENNING, the author’s mother. Sheila was one of the many women painters who worked in Britain in the twentieth century, but whose work received little or no attention from the art establishment. She painted both portraits and landscapes but the book focuses on her portraits.

Working within the genre of memoir, Thornhill interrogates Sheila’s paintings with her own painter’s eyes. She dramatizes incidents and conversations remembered from childhood; she quotes from Sheila’s letters and an incomplete autobiography. The narrative is driven forward by the author’s desire to fathom what got in the way of Sheila thriving as an artist.

Sheila: Portrait of an Unknown Artist is Teresa Thornhill’s first venture into indie publishing, and comes as a deluxe paperback with 22 colour plates and 8 black and white plates. Price £14 plus postage and packing. It can be purchased here.