Augustus John

© Norman Parkinson Archive/ Iconic Images

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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

Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top

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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