Portrait of a Woman
- Artist: Augustus John OM
- Date: 1911
- Medium: Oil paint on wood
- Dimensions: support: 406 x 324 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the "Portrait of a Woman" by Augustus John. Painted in 1911, it shows his second wife, Dorelia McNeill, with a quiet, almost serene expression. Augustus was a key student at the Slade School in the late 1890s and later became a leading light of the New English Art Club. In this piece he pushes the same bold, unshaded technique he first tried in Provence in 1910 – pure colours applied without the usual shading – but he softens the palette here, giving the portrait a more restrained mood.
Dorelia first met Augustus while taking evening classes at Westminster School of Art in 1903. She would become his partner and the mother of their four children, and she appeared frequently in his work. This painting was made specifically for the American collector John Quinn, an early admirer of Augustus’s work.
Acquired in 1923 by A.E. Anderson with help from the Art Fund, the work now hangs in the Historic and Modern British Art section. It’s a great example of how Augustus blended modern colour techniques with intimate portraiture, offering a glimpse into both the artist’s technique and the life of his muse.
See it in person
Portrait of a Woman is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
