Artists, Siblings, Visionaries: The lives and loves of Gwen and Augustus John

(Hardback)

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'Judith Mackrell has done an incredible job in bringing to life the stories of these two great artists' - Anthony D'Offay 'This is a must read . . . a deeply moving account of a family bursting with talent' - Anne Sebba In Artists, Siblings, Visionaries, acclaimed biographer Judith Mackrell turns her attention to British brother and sister artists Gwen and Augustus John. In many ways they were polar opposites. Augustus was the larger of the two; vivid, volatile and promiscuous, he was a hero among romantics and bohemians, celebrated as one of the great British talents of his generation. As a woman, Gwen's place in the art world was much smaller, and her private way of working and reserved nature meant it was only long after her death that her tremendous gifts were fully acknowledged. But her temperament was as turbulent as her brother's. She formed passionate attachments to men and woman, including a long affair with the sculptor Rodin. And there were other ways in which the two Johns were remarkably alike, as Mackrell vividly reveals. The result is a powerful portrait of two prodigiously talented artists and visionaries, whose experiments with form and colour created some of the most memorable work of the early twentieth century.

Reviews

Wonderfully conjures the siblings radical lives and the changing world they inhabited . . . Judith Mackrells splendid double biography, does full justice to each of these prodigious talents. * Financial Times *
Superb . . . a fine portrait of these two artists. -- Oliver Soden * Daily Telegraph *
Outstanding . . . Mackrell approaches her subjects with an almost novelistic sensibility. -- Jonathan Jones * The Guardian *
Absorbing . . . Mackrell says in her opening pages, if Gus and Gwen were 'admirable or awful'. By the end of this haunting book they seem admirable in their awfulness. -- Frances Wilson * The Spectator *
A thoroughly researched and effortlessly written account of the extraordinary lives of Augustus and Gwen John, encompassing painting, of course, but also obsessive love, infidelity, betrayal, family, sibling rivalry and relationships, and how they both subverted societys expectations. A fantastic read - the pages virtually turned themselves -- Fanny Blake
This dream of a book lures us back to that most fascinating world, that of Gwen and Augustus John -- Louisa Young
Judith Mackrell has done an incredible job in bringing to life the stories of these two great artists -- Anthony DOffay
This is a must read . . . a deeply moving account of a family bursting with talent -- Anne Sebba, author of The Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz
Lively . . . nuanced. * The Times *
Mackrell is skilled at suspenseful structuring. The stories of their lives play out like a moralising Victorian tale, Augustus appearing to take the broad and easy way while Gwen, on the narrow path, finds greater artistic rewards . . . compelling. -- Tanya Harrod * Literary Review *

Author Bio

Judith Mackrell is a celebrated dance critic, writing first for The Independent and now for The Guardian. Her biography of the Russian ballerina Lydia Lopokova, Bloomsbury Ballerina, was shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award. She has also appeared on television and radio, as well as writing on dance, co-authoring The Oxford Dictionary of Dance. She lives in London with her family.