| Augustus John (1878-1961) was
a leading British artist of the 20th century.He is primarily known as a
painter, draughtsman and printmaker. He was born in Tenby, Wales, and was
the brother of Gwen John. He attended Slade School of Fine Art from
1894-1898. He had a natural and prodigious ability as a draughtsman, and
he soon established himself as a star student and a character of the art
world. He became Professor of painting at Liverpool University Art School
from 1901-1904. He travelled widely in Britain and on the continent, and
started an association with gypsies, painting them and learning their
language. He started to exhibit widely, with his first one-man show at the
Carfax Gallery in 1903. He became known for his paintings and drawings of
his second wife, Dorelia, his children, his sister Gwen and many
personalities including George Bernard Shaw, T.E. Lawrence, W.B Yeats and
Dylan Thomas, and for his landscapes and romantic scenes of peasant life.
He is represented in many major galleries worldwide, including the Tate
Gallery and National Portrait Gallery. He was elected a Royal Academician
in 1938 but resigned in 1938 and was re-elected in 1940. He was awarded
the Order of Merit in 1942. A retrospective of his work was held at the
National Portrait Gallery in 1975, and again at the National Museum of
Wales in Cardiff in 1996. He lived at Fordingbridge, Hampshire. |
