8 OF 33 
Ronald Firbank
8 of 33 portraits by Augustus John
© estate of Augustus John / Bridgeman Art Library www.bridgemanart.com
Share this
Ronald Firbank
by Augustus John
pencil, circa 1915
13 in. x 12 1/2 in. (330 mm x 318 mm)
Purchased, 1968
Primary Collection
NPG 4600
Artistback to top
- Augustus Edwin John (1878-1961), Painter. Artist or producer associated with 33 portraits, Sitter in 106 portraits.
Linked publicationsback to top
- Clerk, Honor, The Sitwells, 1994 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 14 October - 22 January 1995), p. 72 Read entry
Osbert had noticed the writer Ronald Firbank (1886-1926), looking like 'a witty and decadent Red Indian', some years before he and Sacheverell called on him in Oxford in 1919. They were, apparently, the first people to whom the reclusive Firbank had spoken, apart from his charlady and a guard on the London train, in two years. Edith had drawn their attention to Vainglory in 1915, and all the Sitwells admired the aesthetic prose style of this 'reincarnation of all the Nineties', as Wyndham Lewis called him. He later became a friend in London and in Italy, where he had a villa in Fiesole.
Augustus John was also a friend of Firbank and designed frontispieces for Caprice (1917) and Valmouth (1919). After Firbank's death Osbert contributed a memoir to the first volume of his works and this was reprinted, with an essay by Augustus John, in Ifan Kyrle Fletcher's Ronald Firbank, A Memoir in 1930. John's drawing was used by Osbert to illustrate his chapter on Firbank in Noble Essences; a second drawing is in the collection of the University of Texas.
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 218
Events of 1915back to top
Current affairs
The Times Newspaper reports that Britain's Army is suffering from a lack of Ammunition Shells, pointing the finger of blame at the Liberal government. The Shell Scandal forced Asquith to form a new coalition government, bringing Conservatives into the cabinet and demonstrating the need to gear the whole country's economy towards the war effort.Art and science
As the threat from aerial attack increased, the decision was made to protect the national art collections by storing them in basements or in locations outside London. On 15th October the National Portrait Gallery under the directorship of Sir Charles John Holmes closed its doors to the public and removed paintings from the walls.International
Stalemate ensues on the Western Front and trench warfare begins as both sides take up defensive positions. While offensive strategies become futile, serious loss of life occurs with the first deployment of tanks and the use of poison gas.Albert Einstein publishes his General Theory of Relativity, a model of gravitation and cosmology.
Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.
