British artist Tracey Emin has said that being made a dame is “another brilliant surprise” in her life. The artist, known for her headline-grabbing 90s works Everyone I Have Ever Slept With and My Bed, has been given a damehood in the King’s Birthday Honours list for her services to art. “Dame Tracey has a good ring to it,” the 60-year-old said in a statement to the PA news agency.
The Queen meeting Tracey Emin during the Sovereign’s Creative Industries Garden Party at Buckingham Palace (Aaron Chown/PA) Born in 1963 in Croydon, south London, fashion student Dame Tracey dropped out of Medway College of Design in the 1980s to become a high-profile and notorious member of the group of contemporary artists dubbed the YBAs (Young British Artists). During this time, Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995, featuring a tent adorned with 102 names, was shown at Charles Saatchi’s Sensation exhibition held at the Royal Academy in London. Since then, she has become known for her autobiographical and confessional artwork.
My Bed, an art installation featuring an unmade bed covered in debris, sold for more than £2 million at auction. Artist Tracey Emin during a photocall with her piece My Bed (Nick Ansell/PA) Other works from Dame Tracey have included a 2018 neon sign in London’s St Pancras station saying “I want my time with you”, and a 2020 Royal Academy exhibition which showcased her paintings alongside the work of Edvard Munch. Dame Tracey has often expressed .