In the 1990s she became one of the most unlikely television stars.

Emerging from her hermit-like existence in a caravan at a Carmelite convent in Norfolk, she hosted unscripted BBC shows from galleries across the world.

Born in South Africa, Sister Wendy moved as a child to Edinburgh, where her father studied medicine, joining a convent when she was 16. ...

After obtaining permission to study art in the 1980s - largely through books and postcard reproductions of the great works obtained from galleries - Sister Wendy decided to write a book to earn money for her convent.

Contemporary Women Artists, published in 1988, was followed by more books and articles.