About this lot

Description

§ Augustus John, OM, RA (Welsh, 1878-1961) Portrait of Gwyneth Johnstone, the artist's daughter, aged 17, 1932 oil on panel 75 x 50cm (29 x 20in)
Provenance: Given to Gwyneth Johnstone and now sold from her Estate Literature: The World of Interiors, September 2007; The Times, Gwyneth Johnstone obituary, 18 December 2010, which describes the portrait: - "John painted her portrait, in a fresh, characteristically freely-stated and clearly affectionate study of the beautiful young woman who gazes quizzically out at him, and us, from beneath her mop of auburn hair"; The Telegraph, Gwyneth Johnstone obituary, 14 December 2010, where the portrait is illustrated Other Notes: Gwyneth Johnstone (1914-2010) was a daughter of Augustus John and niece of Gwen John, two of the most prominent British artists of the 20th Century. Her mother, the pianist Nora Brownsword, met Augustus John when she posed for him shortly before the First World War. Gwyneth was brought up between London and Norfolk by her mother alone. As a result, she had a rather distant relationship with her father. She was the object of resentment from her half-sisters and suffered the social stigma of illegitimacy. However, at one point she shared a London studio with her father, who depicted her likeness at the age of 17 in the present portrait. A talented artist herself, Gwyneth went on to study at the Slade School between 1933 and 1938, where she forged a lifelong friendship with Mary Fedden. She had a very close relationship with her mother and they often travelled together to Provence, where they stayed in a village near St Tropez. Gwyneth later bought a house in Spain in the 1970s. It was the scenery of the South of France and Spain which inspired her own colourful Mediterranean landscapes, for which she is remembered.
Oil on a wooden panel. The panel is reinforced from the reverse by a wooden cradle which appears to be part of the original construction. There is a split in the panel at the centre of the top edge, following the vertical grain of the wood. There are numerous losses to the paint layers which appear to be caused by impacts to the surface rather than an inherent weakness in the paint structure. The painting is unvarnished. The wooden frame is in a good condition with some surface dirt and staining.

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