Art in Isolation

I can’t stop looking at this painting by Gwen John – just as the black cat refuses to take its eyes off me!

Born in Wales, Gwen John trained at the prestigious Slade School of Art in London. Now known as one of the greatest artists of the 20th Century, during her lifetime she was overshadowed by her larger than life brother Augustus John – the delicacy of her subtle genius often eclipsed by his more flamboyant life and work. Yet, how right he was when he himself predicted: ’50 years after my death I will be known as the brother of Gwen John!’.

During ‘lockdown’ the art dealer Philip Mould produced a wonderful Youtube series of short films, taking the viewer around his own personal art collection. The name of this series ‘Art in Isolation’ is particularly apt for Gwen John’s work, his subject of Week 2. Appropriately, in the corner of the room, we find a small, sensitive watercolour, radiating its powerful stillness.

I also love the wonderful detail of her sleeping in fields. Like her beautiful paintings – how quietly extraordinary she was!