Augustus John and his sister, Gwen, could not have been more different: he epitomised the Chelsea artist, with a prodigious and flamboyant talent; the bohemian womaniser who had many relationships and fathered many children. Gwen is usually depicted as the shy, retiring recluse, living with her cats in a garret in Paris and painting small, intimate and ‘feminine’ pictures. This lecture seeks to investigate these myths and discusses the possible truth of Augustus’s statement that ‘Fifty years from now I shall be known as the brother of Gwen John’.

Sandra Pollard, M.A. in Art History, has lectured for over 35 years and was a Trustee of The Bowes Museum