Augustus John at Ambleteuse, 1907

Dugald Sutherland MacColl 1859 - 1948

Summary

A head and shoulders portrait of the impressionist portrait painter Augustus John, who was part of the New English Art Club. His head is turned slightly to the left, staring with a serious expression. He wears a red shirt and has a full beard and moustache, as well as long hair. The background is in mid-brown. The paint application is soft and at times expressive, particularly in the shirt region.

Display Label

Augustus John at Ambleteuse 1907 Dugald Sutherland MacColl 1859-1948 Oil on panel The Welsh artist Augustus John first visited Paris in 1898 and returned to France every year for the rest of his life. He stood at the forefront of new British approaches to art and grew famous for his bohemianism and womanising. John was painting at the French fishing village of Equiten when he was invited to Ambleteuse to sit for this portrait. Often better known for his work as a writer and curator, DS MacColl was also an artist in his own right and, like John, a member of the New English Art Club, for which he acted as a spokesman for Impressionism. In a letter to the Gallery MacColl remembered John 'arrived, in his fisher-jersey, smelling so strong of fish and urine that I had to rush to the sea and wash him.' Purchased 1943.76