Augustus John (1878-1961)

Sir William Orpen, KBE, RA, RHA (1878-1931)

Exhibited 1900

Oil on canvas

H 99.1 x W 94 cm

© National Portrait Gallery, London; accession no. 4252

Given by the Art Fund, 1962

See below for commentary.

Text and formatting by Jacqueline Banerjee, with caption material from the National Portrait Gallery, London. Image reproduced by kind permission.

Gwen John and Augustus John

The National Portrait Gallery's site gives the following rather amusing information: "Orpen and John met while studying at the Slade and became constant companions. Fifty years later John criticised this portrait for not conveying 'the shy, dreamy and reticent character of its model.' It is in fact one of Orpen's finest early portraits of a young artist whose behaviour was often far from 'reticent.'" The ill-founded criticism should, perhaps, be understood in light of the waning of the two men's friendship: "After Orpen became what Augustus called 'the protégé of big business,' their ways diverged" (Holroyd 51).

Bibliography

Arnold, Bruce. Orpen: Mirror to an Age. London: Cape, 1981.

Augustus John." National Portrait Gallery. Web. 11 July 2021.

Holroyd, Michael. Augustus John: The New Biography. London: Vintage, 1997.

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Created 11 July 2021