Augustus John

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Augustus John photographed by George Charles Beresford , around 1920

Augustus Edwin John OM RA (* 4. January 1878 in Tenby , Pembrokeshire , † 31 October 1961 in Fordingbridge , Hampshire ) was a British painter of the late Impressionism .

Life

William Orpen: Portrait of Augustus John, oil on canvas, 1899

Augustus Edwin John was the son of Welsh attorney Edwin William John and his wife Augusta Smith. His artistic talent was recognized at an early stage and at the age of eleven he attended the Tenby School of Art . At 17 he moved to London , where he studied with Frederick Brown and Henry Tanks at the Slade School of Fine Art . Here his older sister Gwendolen Mary and William Orpen were among his classmates. In 1898 John won the Slade School scholarship , which enabled him to study at the Académie Colarossi in Paris . He also assisted the well-known painter Pierre Puvis de Chavannes in his studio. At this time Augustus John came into contact with the Bohème from Montmartre which had a lasting influence on him.

On his return to England Augustus John was offered a position as professor at Liverpool University College , which he held until 1904. At the same time he married Ida (1877-1907), a daughter of the Pre-Raphaelite John Trivett Nettleship. The mutual connection resulted in five children.

Ambrose McEvoy : Portrait of Augustus John, oil on canvas, around 1900

Through John Sampson, an ethnologist and librarian at college, he came into contact with the life, customs and introduction of the Roma language . From that point on, John tried to adopt the gypsy way of life as much as possible while meeting the needs of his family and his artistic work. In the summer of 1905 he traveled to Dartmoor with his family and his lover, Dorothy Dorelia McNeill (1881–1969) . John's gypsy images transformed his wife and lover ( Menage a trois ) into gypsy muses . After Ida's death, he married his model and long-time lover for the second time. The mutual relationship resulted in two daughters, Poppet and Vivien.

Together with the painter William Orpen , he opened a teaching studio in Chelsea and became a member of the New English Art Club . From 1910 until the outbreak of World War I , John lived and worked during the summer months in his house in the southern French port city of Martigues , also known as Venice of Provence . During World War I, John served in France as an official war painter , creating a number of portraits of Canadian and British soldiers on the front lines. Between the war years, Augustus John was considered the leading portrait painter in Great Britain. He mainly portrayed prominent contemporaries from the literary and artistic milieu, including Thomas Edward Lawrence , Thomas Hardy , William Butler Yeats , Isabella Augusta Gregory , Tallulah Bankhead , George Bernard Shaw and Dylan Thomas . His most famous portrait, Madame Suggia , is considered one of his most important works and shows the Portuguese cellist Guilhermina Suggia playing her instrument. His work has been recognized in exhibitions at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters . Later Augustus John taught at the Royal Academy of Arts .

Trivia

  • His eldest son, Sir Caspar John (1903-1984), from his marriage to Ida Nettleship, was from 1954 deputy to Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma and from 1960 to 1963 senior admiral ( First Sea Lord ) of the British Royal Navy . Most recently, John was Admiral of the Fleet (Grand Admiral).
  • In 1924 he had a love affair with the widowed Evelyn Beatrice Fleming, mother of the writer Ian Fleming . The relationship resulted in a daughter, Amaryllis Marie-Louise (1925–1999). She was a well-known cellist and professor at the Royal College of Music in London.

Awards

Works (selection)

  • Augustus John with Tallulah Bankhead with their famous portrait, 1929

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Madame Suggia , Tate Gallery London
  2. ^ Honorary Members: Augustus E. John. American Academy of Arts and Letters, accessed March 12, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Augustus John. Portrait of Dr. Gustav Stresemann, 1925, oil on canvas. Albright-Knox Art Gallery, 1285 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York 14222, accessed October 27, 2014 .

literature

Web links

Commons : Augustus John  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
personal data
SURNAME John, Augustus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES John, Augustus Edwin (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British late impressionist painter
DATE OF BIRTH January 4, 1878
PLACE OF BIRTH Tenby , Pembrokeshire
DATE OF DEATH October 31, 1961
Place of death Fordingbridge , Hampshire