Gwen John (1876–1939) has long captivated viewers with her enigmatic paintings of women in solitary moments of introspection. This exhibition brings together John’s celebrated oil paintings with rarely seen drawings and watercolors, spanning her early days as a student to her later immersion in French modernism. With fresh insights into the scope and range of John’s artistic vision, Gwen John: Strange Beauties is the most comprehensive survey dedicated to the artist in more than 40 years.
John was born and raised in Pembrokeshire, Wales, and trained at the Slade School of Fine Art in London. In 1904, she left the U.K. and moved to France, where she joined progressive artistic circles and lived for the remainder of her life. John frequently worked in series, exploring subtle compositional variations of tone, form, and technique through her use of repetition. The artist’s works on paper unveil lesser-known aspects of her working methods: plein air sketching; experimentation with abstracted, stylized figures; and a vibrant, luminous palette.
In examining not only John’s artistic influences and technical processes, but also the philosophical ideas that informed her practice, Gwen John: Strange Beauties deepens our understanding of the artist’s contributions to the 20th-century avant-garde.
The exhibition is organized by Amgueddfa Cymru in partnership with National Galleries of Scotland, the Yale Center for British Art, and National Museum of Women in the Arts. It will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue.
Gwen John, Woman with Hands Crossed, ca. 1923-1924; Oil on canvas, 22 1/4 x 19 1/4 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay; Photo by Lee Stalsworth
The Artist,
Gwen John
Gwen John, sister of the wild and flamboyant artist Augustus John, is now considered one of the premier British artists of the Post-Impressionist era.