In Artists, Siblings, Visionaries, acclaimed biographer Judith Mackrell turns her attention to British brother and sister artists Gwen and Augustus John. In many ways they were polar opposites.
Gus was rambunctious, boastful, promiscuous and a self-proclaimed ‘roaring boy’ of the most Bohemian kind – qualities that were reflected in his work, which was itself far from shy and retiring. In his lifetime – until the booze and the bad behaviour began to drain both his talent and his popularity – he was feted as a Great Artist. Gwen was quiet and introspective, every bit as talented an artist as her brother, possibly more so, though largely overlooked in her lifetime. Yet her quietness hid a passionate nature, which can be seen both in her love affairs, with both men and women and notably with her mentor, the sculptor Rodin.
But as this vivid and insightful account of their lives shows, they were also remarkably alike, sharing a striving for escape, a commitment to their work and a profound if sometimes exasperating kinship throughout the course of their adult lives. It is a powerful portrait of their remarkable relationship – brother, sister, prodigiously talented artists and visionaries whose experiments with form and colour created some of the most memorable work of the twentieth century.
