Augustus John & Gwen John

Augustus John (1878-1961) &

Gwen John (1876-1939)

Augustus John (1878-1961) & Gwen John (1876-1939) 12th March - 10th April 2014

Monday - Friday 10.00 - 5.30 Saturday 11.00 - 2.00

Browse & Darby 19 Cork Street London W1S 3LP Tel: 020 7734 7984 Fax: 020 7851 6650 email: art@browseanddarby.co.uk www.browseanddarby.co.uk

Augustus John

1.

The Red Feather (Dorelia in a Landscape) oil on panel 12 ¾ x 16 inches circa 1910 - 1912 Provenance Private collection, UK Exhibited London, Royal Academy of Arts, Diploma Gallery, Works by Augustus John, 1954, cat.206 London, Christie’s, New English Art Club Centenary Exhibition, 27 August – 17 September 1986, cat. 123 London, Tate Britain, Gwen John and Augustus John, 29 September 2004 – 9 January 2005, cat. 62, illus.

2.

Lily in the Welsh Hills oil on canvas, signed 30 x 18 ¼ inches circa 1910-13 Provenance With Arthur Tooth & Sons Ltd, London, 18 July 1961, where purchased by the previous owner Exhibited London, The Piccadilly Gallery, A collection of oils, drawings and etchings, 1991, no.3, ill London, Olympia, Augustus John with his Family, February 1999 John made several trips to Wales between 1910 and 1913, often travelling with fellow artists J.D.Innes and Derwent Lees. The model for this painting is Lily Ireland, whom John describes in his autobiography, ‘Lily Ireland has never been out of London and felt like a fish out of water in this wild place. She hankered after her native slum. It is true she recognised the sheep on the mountain-side, for she had seen similar animals in Hyde Park’ (Augustus John, Chiaroscuro, p.224). In 1913 John painted several pictures of Lily in Tan-y-grisiau, a stop on the Ffestiniog railway in Snowdonia, which was surrounded by steep mountains and rugged countryside.

3.

By Tan-y-grisiau oil on panel 20 x 11 ¾ inches circa 1913 Provenance Beattie Oppenheimer.

Bequeathed to the previous owner’s grandmother, 1970s, and thence by descent Private Collection, USA Exhibited London, Royal Academy of Arts, Diploma Gallery, Works by Augustus John, 1954, cat.106 (loaned by Beattie Oppenheimer) The model for this work is also Lily Ireland. John wrote to his American patron John Quinn, ‘I did about a dozen panels in N.Wales where I had a little model pose for me. She came from Chelsea…I think this year’s panels are quite the best I’ve done’ (19 September 1913; New York Library) The 2004 Tate retrospective of work by Augustus John & Gwen John included a similar composition to this painting called Lily at Tan-y-grisiau (The Orange Apron).

4.

Robin oil on panel 15 15/16 x 12 他 inches Provenance Vivian White, Alex Reid & Lefevre (The Lefevre Gallery), Private Collection, London Exhibited London, Olympia, Augustus John, 23 - 28 February 1999, no.155 Robin (born 23 October 1904) was the third son of Augustus John and his wife Ida Nettleship.

5.

Study of Ida with Head on Hand pencil

10 Âź x 8 inches

circa 1900

Provenance Louise Salaman, and thence by descent

6.

Ida Nettleship with a Fan sanguine and charcoal chalks 12 Ÿ x 9 ž inches Provenance Louise Salaman, thence by descent to the previous owner With Maas Gallery

7.

Study of Dorelia, head and shoulders red & black chalk on pale grey paper, signed 12 ¾ x 9 ¼ inches Executed in 1903 Provenance Leicester Galleries Spink & Son Private collection c/o Spink & Son Private collection, UK Exhibited Cardiff, National Museums and Galleries of Wales, ‘Themes and variations: the drawings of Augustus John, 1901–1931’, 1996, cat. 9, illus.

Augustus met and fell in love with Dorelia McNeill in 1903, the year this drawing was made. In his biography of Augustus (1996) Michael Holroyd writes: ‘It was not by her looks alone that she dazzled him. Beauty is not so scarce. What was uncommon about Dorelia was the serenity that gave her beauty its depth…She was not witty or articulate; and certainly not sentimental.’

8.

Dorelia Reclining pencil on paper, signed 9 Ÿ x 13 ½ inches circa 1906-10 Provenance Private collection, UK

9.

A young girl from Equihen black pencil, signed 13 ½ x 9 ½ inches Provenance Private collection, UK In 1907 Augustus was at Equihen on the Normandy coast in the summer and came across a group of fishergirls. He was drawn to their ‘distinctive costumes’ and he made at least eleven drawings of this particular girl, each from a slightly different angle apparently as he circled the sitting model. Other drawings from this series are in the collections of the British Museum and the City Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham.

10.

Dorelia Standing pencil, signed and inscribed to Henry Lamb 16 x 11 inches

circa 1909

Provenance Given by the artist to Henry Lamb thence by descent to private collection, 1998 Private collection, UK Exhibited London, Royal Academy of Arts, Diploma Gallery, Works by Augustus John, 1954, cat. 121

11.

Dorelia Standing with her Left Arm Raised pencil

18 x 12 ½ inches

Provenance Ex. Collection G. A. Duckworth Private collection, UK Exhibited London, Royal Academy of Arts, Diploma Gallery, Works by Augustus John, 1954, cat. 117

12.

Girl in a wide brimmed hat charcoal

14 ½ x 10 ½ inches

circa 1910

Provenance Private collection, UK

13.

Nude Study charcoal on paper, signed 19 x 13 inches Provenance Private collection, UK The model for this drawing is possibly the cockney laundress Lottie Stafford, who lived in a rundown cottage at Paradise Walk, and modelled at the Pheasantry Club. She was also painted by William Nicholson, Walter Sickert and William Orpen, and Nicholson’s lover, the novelist Marguerite Steen, recalled that she ‘had children every twenty-five minutes’ and after modelling would say she ‘must get back to Paradise’.

14.

Family Group charcoal and pencil on paper, 14 x 12 inches Executed in 1910 Provenance Ex collection: the Artist, and thence by descent

15.

Portrait of King Feisal of Iraq pen and ink 11 ½ x 8 Ÿ inches circa 1919 Provenance Ex collection: the Artist Private collection, UK and thence by descent Augustus John met King Feisal of Iraq in 1919, when he came to Europe for the Paris Peace Conference with their mutual friend T. E. Lawrence in attendance as translator and advisor.

John completed at least two paintings of King Feisal, one of which is in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

16.

Portrait of the Artist: bust, in an oval, circa 1902 etching, signed in pencil printed in black ink on laid paper, in the third (final) state numbered 18 from the edition of 25, published in 1906 4 7/8 x 4 inches, sheet 11 x 8 3/4 inches Literature Campbell Dodgson, A catalogue of etchings by Augustus John 1901-1914, London 1920, no. 9

17.

Gwendolen, circa 1902 etching and drypoint, signed in pencil printed in black ink on wove paper: an impression in the fifth (final) state, no 7 from the edition of 25 5 1/2 x 3 5/8 inches, sheet 11 3/8 x 9 3/8 inches Literature Campbell Dodgson, A catalogue of etchings by Augustus John 1901-1914, London 1920, no. 47

Gwen John

18.

Seated Tortoise-Shell Cat, Facing Left pencil on paper, stamped signature 6 15/16 x 5 inches Probably executed about 1905 - 1908 Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist This cat is the subject of most of Gwen John’s cat drawings. The artist acquired her in 1904, while living at 19 boulevard Edgar Quinet in Paris, and named her after that address. She disappeared twice, the second time, in 1908, permanently.

19.

Portrait of a Lady pencil and grey wash 8 x 6 ⅛ inches circa 1909-1910 Provenance Private Collection, USA, 1996 Private Collection, UK Exhibited Chichester, Pallant House Gallery, Gwen John and Celia Paul – Painters in Parallel, October 2012 – February 2013 This model, known as ‘the lady’ is the subject of a series of drawings from circa 1909-10.

It is thought that she is Maude Boughton-Leigh, known as Grilda, an artist friend of Gwen John who lived in Paris at that time and who had also studied at the Slade. She was the sister of Ellen Theodosia (Chloe) Boughton-Leigh, who was the subject of three paintings by the artist, and a life-long friend.

20.

Little Girl with Fringe charcoal on tan paper, stamped signature 9 5/16 x 6 11/16 inches Probably executed during the late 1910s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist

21.

Cart and Horse in Landscape pencil on paper, stamped signature 4 ž x 6 ⅜ inches Probably executed during the late 1910s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist Verso is a fragment of a charcoal and wash study of General Gouraud, which was drawn in 1915-1916.

22.

Full Length Study of Little Girl Seated, Hands in Lap pencil on paper, stamped signature 10 7/16 x 8 inches Probably executed during the late 1910s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist On the reverse is a pencil study of houses in the rue Terre Neuve, Meudon.

23.

Study of Standing Girl with Long Hair charcoal on tan paper, stamped signature 12 3/16 x 8 ⅛ inches Probably executed during the late 1910s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist The girl is Elisabeth de Willman Grabowska, the subject of many Gwen John drawings, sometimes known as ‘the girl with the sulky expression’. Elisabeth lived in Paris but twice spent the summer at Pleneuf in the company of her mother and of Ruth Manson and her daughter Rosamund. The four stayed together in the Pleneuf house known as ‘Chaumine’ which was also painted by Gwen John.

24.

Hatted Women in Church pencil on paper, stamped signature 6 5/16 x 4 â…ž inches Probably executed during the late 1910s - early 1920s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist On the reverse is an unfinished watercolour and pencil sketch of a girl in church.

25.

Hatted Women in Church pencil on paper, stamped signature 6 5/16 x 4 â…ž inches Probably executed during the late 1910s - early 1920s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist

26.

Black Cat Sleeping on Chair, Facing Right charcoal on paper, stamped signature 7 â…? x 9 â…? inches Probably executed during the late 1910s - early 1920s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist This is probably the black cat that appears in several paintings, including Girl with Cat (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) and Young Woman Holding a Black Cat (The Trustees of the Tate Gallery, London).

27.

Arthur Symons in Left Profile, Hand to Face charcoal pencil on tan paper, stamped signature 10 � x 10 inches Executed in 1921 Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist The subject is the poet and critic Arthur Symons (1861-1945). He and Augustus John were good friends and his wife was the sister of Gwen John’s close friend Isabel Bowser.

The artist met the Symonses in 1920, and visited them at Island Cottage, their house at Wittersham, Kent, in June 1921; it was presumably during that month that John made her series of portrait drawings of Symons, of which this is one.

28.

Rear view of Nun and Orphan, seated in Church gouache, stamped signature 5 â…? x 5 7/16 inches painted circa 1920s Provenance Ex collection: the estate of the Artist In 1913 Gwen John was received into the Catholic Church. After receiving a commission from the nearby Convent in Meudon to paint a replica portrait of their foundress Mere Poussepin she began producing several portraits of the nuns there. There was also an orphanage in Meudon, which was part of the convent, so she often drew the orphans and nuns in church, before adding watercolour or gouache to the work on her return to her studio.

29.

Rear View of Hatted Woman gouache on paper, stamped signature 3 15/16 x 6 3/16 inches Probably executed during the 1920s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist On the reverse is an unfinished drawing in gouache.

30.

Girl in Pom Pom Hat, in Church charcoal on paper, stamped signature 6 ½ x 4 ⅞ inches Probably executed during the 1920s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist

31.

Profile of Boy in White Collar gouache on paper, stamped signature 5 x 4 inches Probably executed during the 1920s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist

32.

Rear View of Girl and Nun Sitting in Church gouache and watercolour on paper, stamped signature 6 ⅜ x 5 � inches Probably executed during the 1920s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist

33.

Woman in Brown Coat and Hat, Holding Book gouache on paper, stamped signature 4 x 3 â…ž inches Probably executed during the 1920s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist

34.

Two Hatted Women in Church gouache on paper, stamped signature 8 � x 6 ž inches Probably executed during the 1920s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist

35.

Three Girls and Nun in Church watercolour on paper, stamped signature 4 15/16 x 4 15/16 inches Probably executed during the 1920s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist Verso is another view of the same group.

36.

Hatted Woman in Church pencil on paper, stamped signature 6 7/16 x 4 13/16 inches Probably executed during the 1920s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist Verso is an unfinished study of two women’s heads.

37.

Man and Woman Walking, Rue Terre Neuve watercolour and pencil on paper, stamped signature 8 9/16 x 6 他 inches Probably executed during the 1920s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist Gwen John lived at 29 rue Terre Neuve, Meudon, on the outskirts of Paris, from 1910 until her death in 1939.

38.

Two Hatted Women, One in Checked Coat, in Church charcoal on paper, stamped signature 6 7/16 x 4 15/16 inches Probably executed during the 1920s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist

39.

Houses, rue Terre Neuve watercolour and pencil on paper, stamped signature 9 ⅜ x 12 ⅛ inches Probably executed during the 1920s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist

40.

Two Hatted Girls in Church charcoal on tan paper, stamped signature 6 ⅜ x 4 ⅞ inches Probably executed during the 1920s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist

41.

Rear View Bust Study of Woman wearing High Crowned Green Hat watercolour, stamped signature 3 ½ x 2 Ÿ inches executed circa late 1920s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist

42.

Terrace in Moonlight, Meudon gouache on paper, stamped signature 5 � x 7 ž inches Probably executed in the late 1920s

43.

Woman in a Railway Carriage pencil, watercolour, and gouache on paper 4 â…› x 3 â…? inches Probably executed during the late 1920s - early 1930s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist

44.

Pink Flowers in Pink Vase oil and gouache on paper, stamped signature 7 他 x 5 他 inches Probably executed during the late 1920s - early 1930s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist

45.

The Victorian Sisters gouache and pencil on paper, stamped signature 9 ½ x 6 ⅛ inches Probably executed about 1928 - 1933 Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist The composition known as The Victorian Sisters (almost certainly not the artist’s title) is based on a prayer card of 1926 of an 1876 photograph of Ste Therese de Lisieux at the age of three and a half, with a child who is presumably her older sister. Also on that prayer card is a letter from the saint’s mother to another daughter, Pauline, to whom she had sent the photograph: “La pauvre petite avait peur de photographie; elle qui souriait toujours faisait la lippe comme lorsque les larmes sont pres de venir, il a fallu la rassurer.” Among the artist’s papers are many sheets of sketches, some dated, of this composition; those dates range between 1928 and 1932.

46.

Chrysanthemums in a Vase gouache on paper, stamped signature 5 ½ x 3 15/16 inches Probably executed during the late 1920s - early 1930s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist

47.

Flowers and Foliage in a Vase gouache on cardboard, stamped signature 8 ⅞ x 6 ½ inches Probably executed during the late 1920s - early 1930s Provenance Ex. Collection: Estate of the Artist

48.

Posy of flowers on an ochre ground gouache, stamped signature 5 ½ x 5 Ÿ inches

49.

Flowers in a pink jug gouache and pencil on paper, stamped signature 7 ½ x 5 inches Provenance Private collection, UK

50.

Two Cottages behind a Wall gouache and watercolour, stamped signature 6 â…œ x 6 Âź inches Provenance Ex collection: the Artist Private collection, UK and thence by descent

Browse & Darby

19 Cork Street London W1S 3LP