Art Appreciation – October/November 2021
Barbara and Richard Warburton kindly hosted our October meeting and Barbara gave a very interesting presentation on brother and sister artists, Augustus and Gwen John. Theirs was a fascinating story. Born in Wales in the 1870s, they sadly lost their mother when Gwen was eight and Augustus two years younger. Despite a difficult childhood, they both managed to secure places at the prestigious Slade School of Art in London.
Augustus was the star student and achieved significant celebrity due to his flamboyant personality and lifestyle as well as his artistic talent. He secured many commissions for society portraits. Gwen was a much quieter individual and somewhat overshadowed in her lifetime by her younger brother and her famous lover, the sculptor Rodin. However, she has recently received more acclaim for her paintings and is compared favourably with Augustus. Both are known for their portraits and self-portraits, but their contrasting artistic styles reflect their very different personalities. Many thanks to Barbara and Gwen Smith for their research which left us much better informed about them and inspired to seek out their work.
Following the Open Day, we have had a significant number of new members to our group, so our next meeting will be a change to our usual format. To accommodate our larger group, it will take place in the Mayor’s Parlour in the Manor House, Dawlish at 2pm on November 8th. David Gearing will be leading with a presentation about Filippo Lippi, one of the great masters of the Early Renaissance.
Lynne Vick