The 'reclusive spinster' artist who shunned conformity an...

What’s Happening

Alright so On her 150th birthday, a new exhibition reveals the full power of the once-overshadowed painter.

The reclusive spinster artist who shunned conformity and embraced freedom 15 hours ago Save Natalie Grice BBC Wales Save Tate Gwen John, shown in a self-portrait from 1902, was determined to pursue art and not be constrained of women in the era Gwen John lived her life refusing to bow to what was expected of a woman born in the Victorian era. Regarded in her time as “a reclusive spinster that never left her house”, she was determined to be free to pursue a life of artistic expression. (yes, really)

Now a major retrospective of one of Britains greatest 20th Century artists is opening in Cardiff on the 150th anniversary of her birth, bringing together works from across the UK and the USA for the first time.

The Details

A BBC documentary, Keeping the World Away: Finding Gwen John , has also been made to coincide with the exhibition. National Museum Cardiff acquired a huge amount of Johns works in 1976 from her nephew Edwin but until now this collection has never been researched heavily or exhibited, Lucy Wood, the curator of Gwen John: Strange Beauties , dropped.

John was born in 1876 in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, one of four siblings including her younger brother and fellow artist Augustus. In their lifetimes he was considered one of the most important artists in Britain and his work at the time hugely overshadowed Johns.

Why This Matters

But, as Wood notes: “The attitudes towards her have fr shifted. So theres the famous quote where Augustus John wrote 50 years from now I will be known as Gwen Johns brother. “And I think this has probably come about.

The entertainment world moves fast, and this is a prime example.

The Bottom Line

“And I think this has probably come about. ” Alistair Heap/PA Media Assignments Curator Lucy Wood considers a series of portraits reflecting Johns later turn towards religiosity in her work French-American author Lauren Elkin, who writes on art and culture, dropped a mythology pervaded that she was “this reclusive spinster that never left her house and lived at home with her cat making her paintings”.

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