Now 89, she still paints every day, having converted her garage into a studio. Her eyesight is not as good as it once was, so she prefers to paint in black Indian ink: ‘I love that graphic outline, which is something I picked up from Picasso.’ She recently had an exhibition at the Penwith Gallery in St Ives, and has just selected paintings for a forthcoming show at the Kunsthalle Messmer in Germany, which also features Niki de Saint Phalle and Elvira Bach.

She is eternally grateful to Picasso. ‘I was very lucky to sit in his presence,’ she says. ‘He gave me my life, and I shall forever be thankful.’

20th and 21st Century Art summer sales at Christie’s in London are now on view until 26 June 2024. The season opens with Marc Chagall — a Dialogue of Self and Soul (bidding online until 26 June), followed by Picasso Ceramics and the Post-War to Present Online Sale (until 1 July). The Post-War to Present live auction takes place on 27 June

Lydia Corbett will be exhibiting in Three Strong Women at the Kunsthalle Messmer, Riegel am Kaiserstuhl, Germany, from 29 June until 24 November 2024