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Augustus Edwin John
Augustus Edwin John original watercolour drawing of a caveman, British, 20th C

$1,112.40
£800
€947.03
CA$1,518.51
A$1,707.99
CHF 885.90
MX$20,719.13
NOK 11,232.63
SEK 10,570.53
DKK 7,065.14
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About the Item

This is one of a number of drawings that was accompanied by a signed letter from Augustus Edwin John which read as follows `Alderney Manor/ Nr Parkstone, Dorset / Dear Hodge, I send a few rough sketches hoping they’ be in time to be useful as suggestions. I`m sorry I couldn`t manage to send them before/ Augustus John/ I think the figures ought to be well above life size’ This fun drawing is a chance to buy an original work by one of Britain's most distinguished artists of the 20th Century. Augustus John was a Welsh portraitist, landscape painter, draughtsman, lithographer and etcher. Born in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, John was the youngest son of Edwin William John, a Welsh solicitor, and Augusta Smith, born of a long line of Sussex master plumbers. It was Augusta who instilled a passion for drawing in the young Augustus and his sister Gwen John. At seventeen, John attended the Tenby School of Art, leaving in 1894 to study at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, until 1899. He quickly established his name as the star pupil of the drawing master, Henry Tonks. John endured a head injury while swimming in 1897, which is said to have permanently altered his character, yet rather surprisingly, the incident seems to have stoked his artistic ambition, and he went on to win the Slade Summer Art Prize the following year. John was already recognised as a talented draughtsman, and he used his prize money to visit a Rembrandt exhibition in Amsterdam.[1] In 1898, John went to Paris to study the Old Masters in the Louvre. He also absorbed influences from his French contemporaries, most notably, Matisse and Gaugin. John’s vivid colour palette and emphatic form evoke the work of Botticelli, Picasso and particularly Puvis de Chavannes. In 1901, John married Ida Nettleship and together they had five children, with John accepting a role as art teacher at the University of Liverpool to support them before moving to London in 1902, where he founded, with his Slade compatriot William Orpen, the Chelsea Art School (1903–7). In 1903 he was elected to the New English Art Club, and met his famous muse, Dorothy McNeill, known as ‘Dorelia’. John’s complex love life saw him father children with both women and juggle two families until Nettleship’s death in 1907. He and Dorelia had two further children. During the First World War, John spent two months in France as a war artist, painting several memorable portraits of Canadian infantrymen. His style during this period has been described as rather superficial; but his later portraits of important politicians, society and literary personalities, actors, dancers recaptured his characteristic boldness of form and colour. John was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy (1921), then Academician (1928), and a member of the London Group (1940). He was awarded the Order of Merit by King George VI in 1942, acted as a trustee of Tate (1933–41), and was elected President of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (1948–53). The details of the work are as follows: AUGUSTUS EDWIN JOHN OM RA (BRITISH, 1878 –1961) CAVEMAN LOOKING UP Ink and watercolour 8.1/2 x 6.1/8 in. (20.6 x 15.5 cm.)
  • Creator:
    Augustus Edwin John (1878-1961, British)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 8.5 in (21.59 cm)Width: 6.13 in (15.58 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    Some creasings, foxing, surface dirt.. Behind glass, in a cream wooden slip, with swept gilt frame, hand-finished recently.
  • Gallery Location:
    Petworth, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU540314550562

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Augustus Edwin John original watercolour drawing of cavemen, British
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20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

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This drawing is accompanied by a signed letter from Augustus Edwin John which read as follows `Alderney Manor/ Nr Parkstone, Dorset / Dear Hodge, I send a few rough sketches hoping t...
Category

20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

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Paper, Ink, Watercolor

Augustus Edwin John original watercolour drawing of a caveman couple, British
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Category

20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

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Paper, Ink, Watercolor

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