Gwen John: Art and Life in London and Paris

by Alicia Foster

The first critical, illustrated biography of Gwen John, painting a vivid portrait of her life, work, and relationships, published in association with Pallant House Gallery. Gwen John was one of the most significant British artists of the early to mid-twentieth century, active in Paris and London, and featured inthe highly influential avant-garde Armory Show in New York in 1913. Demolishing the myth of the recluse, this sustained critical biography of a much-loved artist locates her firmly in the art worlds of London and Paris, where she chose to live and work. Written by Alicia Foster, a critically praised art historian and authority on the artist, Gwen John is based on original research, and examines John’s importance in the context of twentieth-century art. While tracing the development of her work and its significance, the biography also explores John’s relationships both personal and artistic, including her friendship with Rainer Maria Rilke and her romance with sculptor Auguste Rodin. John, who was born in Wales, spent the latter part of the nineteenth century in London and then moved to Paris where she remained for the rest of her life. She was a contemporary of Paul Cézanne, Marie Laurencin, Paula Modersohn-Becker, and Edouard Vuillard. The book brings these two fascinating cities and John’s milieu to life and introduces readers to lesser-known artists whose lives and works have slipped into obscurity. Both a study of an artist whose importance and recognition continues to grow, and of the artistic world of Europe in the early twentieth century, this book provides a compelling portrait for anyone interested in the life and work of a key figure in the history of art. 122 illustrations / 92 in color

Genres: Art, Biography, Nonfiction

272 pages, Hardcover

Published July 25, 2023

About the author

Alicia Foster grew up in Yorkshire and lives in Kent. She has a PhD in Art History and when she's not writing herself, she teaches art students. Warpaint is her first novel.

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

In her own writing about her work, Gwen John liked to use a particular French word: 'recueilli', which translates as collected or gathered-in. In a letter to Ursula Tyrwhitt of around 1910, summing up why she thought her work would matter, she wrote 'I think it will count because I am patient and recueillie in some degree?" The term was still important to her years later. In 1924, she wrote to Jeanne Robert Foster, I think you give too much of your time to people, you ought to be more recueilli perhaps (don't you think that French word is beautiful)’. In a note of 1931 she reminded herself, 'I am recueillie, am I not? when I think of Rilke or my work? Gwen John would have seen the word used often in French art criticism of her day to describe the interior painters with whom she had most in common, the Dutch masters and their modern followers. It was a term of high praise for those, past and present, who made figures in rooms the centre of their work. [218]

What does it matter, one might ask, if Gwen John is described as an entirely solitary figure? Put simply, there is more to lose for women artists in being understood as separate from the world in this way. It means that they are also often perceived as separate from the important developments in modern art, rather than a vital part of them; with nothing to say in their art beyond the story of their own strange lives, rather than having something to impart, beyond autobiography, to their world and time as well as our own. The effect is always a diminishment of who they were and the significance of what they made. [246]

[lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

"'I cannot imagine why my work will have some value in the world — and yet I know it will.'"

I couldn't resist picking this up after attending an exhibition of John's work at the Holburne here in Bath. Topping had signed copies and I had a gift voucher, and thus the stars were really all aligned.

Being a Thames & Hudson book, this was naturally gorgeous, packed with plenty of John's paintings and drawings, as well as those of her contemporaries. While I did feel that unfortunately a lot of the chapters were a bit bogged down by comparisons of John to the men in her life as well as her male contemporaries, it's very clear that Foster is an immaculate researcher and left no stone unturned in her exploration of John's life, her art, and whom she truly was as an individual woman, an extraordinary one at that.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this as a way to deepen my experience at the Holburne exhibition and get better acquainted with an absolutely fascinating modernist artist.

[Elisa Ⓥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a compelling and well-researched biography of Gwen John. The only thing I deplore is the lack of proofreading of French in the book. Some errors are blatantly shocking & would have only taken a minute to double-check. Otherwise, it’s a fascinating window into the life of an often-misinterpreted artist.

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

--- "her other work as a model, which gave her a source of more dependable income, took up much of her time. Modelling was physically and mentally demanding, especially in the competitive Parisian market, where there were always so many other candidates." (Foster: 72)
---- "She is changing the idea of what domestic life can be and what a room can mean, from a place that women have always 'naturally' inhabited, almost like part of the furniture (even if exquisitely so, in the case of Vuillard) to a private space that allows a woman the psychological and creative freedom to imagine it as art. Gwen John's interiors have, then, a different resonance from those of her male contemporaries, despite their ostensible similarity, their cultural roots, objects, furnishings and artistic methods in common." (Foster: 226-7)

This book describes Gwen John's art and life and this is done chronologically. Contrary to some reviews on Amazon, the book does include references to her late paintings. The book shows Gwen's art in relation to her cultural context, which helps understand the form or contents of her paintings or drawings.

The book challanges the idea that for so long critics have had of hers as being reclusive or reluctant to exhibit. By looking at her paintings and letters, the author clearly overturns that myth. However, I wish the author had also challenged the idea that Gwen John was so terribly in love with Rodin. After reading the book I have come to the conclusion that she may not have been as crazy in love as she seems in her letters.

The book includes interesting readings of some of her artworks. The author's reading of 'A Lady Reading' was my favourite one but I missed one for 'Self-Portrait with a Letter'. And I think her painting 'The Japanese Doll' was not praised enough for how original Japanophilia is being depicted compared with other artists.

I don't tend to like books that focus too much on an artist's personal life, specially when that focus comes unexpectedly. At least this book warns you right in the title that her life will be discussed, and that was nice. Although I did not always agree with the author on everything she has to say (pages 234 and 179 in particular), I enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend it to anyone that wants to learn about Gwen's life and art.

[Julie Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful quality book. Alicia narrated the story of Gwen John’s life in London and Paris perfectly. Lavishly illustrated throughout, it is a book I will return to again and again.

[Chimene Bateman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is full of beautiful reproductions of Gwen John's work. The chapters are enjoyably short, and they do bring together her life and her art very insightfully. She was clearly an extraordinary person: someone who knew her own mind and who had all sorts of interesting relationships with other artists, poets and art collectors. She studied at the Slade (like the artist Gwen Raverat, whose memoir Period Piece: A Cambridge Childhood I read earlier this year). Foster adopts a strong feminist perspective, but doesn’t idealise John or portray her as a saint. The one thing that irked me was that there are a lot of French quotations in the book, and they’re full of minor errors and misspellings. I couldn’t tell whether some of the errors were made by Raverat herself, writing in slightly imperfect French, or by the author, but some were clearly made by the author (eg she refers to Bergson’s famous book as La Rire instead of Le Rire, cringe). A shame that such an excellent book wasn’t proofread by a French speaker. Yes, I’m a pedant.

[Martin Pilkington · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tries to integrate, as the title says, both the art and the life of Gwen Jones, but concentrates mainly on the art. The discussion of her life is really about how that impinged on her art.

Everyone will have their own favorite type of her painting, mine, for what out is worth, are the paintings of rooms which the author compares with those of Hammershoi, the Danish painter, whose paintings of interiors, I happily confess, I love.

A good look at someone who is still underrated, for a number of reasons innumerated by the author.

[Alison Pilkington · Rating 4 out of 5]

I visited the exhibition at the Holbourne in Bath and bought the book as I wanted to know about the artist, who previously I had only really been aware of as the sister of Augustus John. It is a beautiful book with many gorgeous illustrations to match the story of a brilliant artist. An enjoyable and informative read and I hope to see more of her works ‘in the flesh’ in the future

[beyond_blue_reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gwen John is so shamelessly strange, I love her. Don't believe the stories about her being a timid little recluse.

This is a brilliant introduction to her life and art - but you have to kind of be into art to get the most out of it.

I had the hardback version bought for me as a gift, and it was a treat to read. The design, illustrations, paper quality 👌 delicious.

[Jamie Rawding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. I didn’t know who Gwen John was before picking up the book in a museum in Helsinki! She was a talented artist who was often looked simply because she was a woman. I’m glad I now know her history and will seek out which museums hold her paintings in their collections.

[Carly Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biography with lots of illustrations about early 20th century British artist, Gwen John.