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Augustus John

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Artist

The Resume

    (January 4, 1878-October 31, 1961)
    Born in Tenby, Wales, United Kingdom
    Post-Impressionist artist
    Known for his portraits
    Notable sitters include Lawrence of Arabia, Dylan Thomas, W.B. Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Tallulah Bankhead and Marchesa Casati
    Wrote the autobiographies 'Chiaroscuro' (1952) and 'Finishing Touches' (1964)
    Received the Order of Merit (1942)
    President of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (1948-53)

Why he might be annoying:

    He traveled in a caravan with his wife, his mistress (later his second wife) and his children by both women.
    He told a fellow bohemian, 'We are the kind of people our fathers warned us against.'
    He was attached to the Canadian army as a war artist during WWI, but was sent home after two months for taking part in a brawl.
    One sitter, industrialist William Lever, was so upset with his portrait that he cut out and hid the head.
    A critic said of his later paintings, 'the painterly brilliance of his early work degenerated into flashiness and bombast, and the second half of his long career added little to his achievement.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    A critic said he could 'draw like a god.'
    His portraits were praised for their psychological insight, with Thomas Hardy saying, 'I don't know if that's how I look, but that's how I feel.'
    He was president of the Gypsy Lore Society (1937-61).
    He joined George Orwell, E.M. Forster and Benjamin Britten in sponsoring the Freedom Defence Committee to 'defend those who are persecuted for exercising their rights to freedom of speech, writing and action.'
    He was reportedly the inspiration for the bohemian painter depicted in Joyce Cary's novel 'The Horse's Mouth' and portrayed by Alec Guinness in the film version.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 6 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 17 Votes: 64.71% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 73 Votes: 45.21% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 6 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 19 Votes: 63.16% Annoying