Augustus John
© Norman Parkinson Archive/ Iconic Images
Augustus John
by Norman Parkinson
bromide print on card mount, 1951
12 in. x 10 in. (304 mm x 254 mm)
Given by Norman Parkinson, 1981 in conjunction with the NPG exhibition 'Norman Parkinson: 50 Years of Portraits and Fashion'
Photographs Collection
NPG x30009
Sitterback to top
- Augustus Edwin John (1878-1961), Painter. Sitter in 106 portraits, Artist or producer associated with 33 portraits.
Artistback to top
- Norman Parkinson (1913-1990), Photographer. Artist or producer of 244 portraits, Sitter in 14 portraits.
This portraitback to top
This portrait by the fashion photographer Norman Parkinson appeared in the November 1951 edition of Vogue, a magazine for which John had written a series of articles about modern painters in 1928. John is shown at Fryern Court, Hampshire, the medieval friary tuned farmhouse where he lived and worked from 1927. Painting less, he was now lionised as the grand old man of British art. In 1952 he published his autobiography, titled Chiaroscuro, and in 1954 a large retrospective of his work was held at the Royal Academy, London.
Placesback to top
- Place made: United Kingdom: England, Hampshire (sitter's home, Fryern Court, Hampshire)
Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top
- Augustus John: A Life in Portraits (26 July 2011 - 18 March 2012)
Events of 1951back to top
Current affairs
The Conservative Party wins the general election and Winston Churchill returns for a second term as prime minister.Art and science
On the centenary of the Great Exhibition of 1851, the Festival of Britain is held as a nationwide celebration of British culture, and as an impetus for post-war regeneration. As well as various art, science and industrial exhibitions and events, a major regeneration project was initiated for the South Bank area of London under the directorship of the architect, Hugh Casson.International
Libya declares its sovereignty from Italian rule, becoming the first independent state to be created by the UN.At the Treaty of San Francisco, 48 nations sign a peace treaty with Japan, officially ending the Pacific War - the last battleground of the Second World War.
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