Canadian Girl

After being a brilliant student at London's Slade School of Art, Augustus, the younger brother of Gwen John (1876-1939), travelled widely and became a frequent visitor to Paris. He was influenced by Rembrandt (1606-69), El Greco (1541-1614) and the Post-Impressionists. His fluency of draughtsmanship and virtuoso handling of paint soon brought him numerous portrait commissions, but his main interest was his figure studies of his family and of gypsy life. He was an individual and innovative painter whose flamboyance gained him notoriety. However, his unique vision declined in later years and with it his popular reputation. Unfortunately the Ferens holds little information on the sitter for this portrait, other than in a letter from John of 1948 in which he states: ' I too would have wished to complete the hands of 'Canadian Girl' and was engaged on them when my sitter left to get married and is now in Canada. I have no doubt I could find someone else to pose for the hands if the original doesn't reappear soon'.