A Portrait of Gwen John 1876-1939 by ELAINE MORGAN with 'I think I shall do something good soon -if I am left to myself and not absolutely destroyed.'
For many years almost the only thing generally known about Gwen John was that she was the sister of Augustus John. Yet Gwen John , like her pictures, intense, subdued yet passionate, is now regarded by many as the finer artist.
In the 1890s Gwen joined Augustus at the Slade School of Art but, thereafter, their paths diverged. Gwen moved to Paris, earning a living as an artists' model. She posed for the sculptor Rodin, becoming his mistress, a love affair which was to obsess her. After his death she continued to paint with a devotion and single-minded-ness matched by extreme reluctance to sell or exhibit.
Programme adviser MARY TAUBMAN Costume designer BARBARA KIDD Film editor PAM BOSWORTH Designer JIM CLAY
Photography colin WALDECK
Produced, directed by ANNA BENSON GYLES
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