Gwyneth Johnstone

Gwyneth Johnstone

1914 – 2014

Gwyneth Johnstone 1914-2014 the artist daughter of Augustus John who has garnered considerable if somewhat belated critical acclaim.

She has been described as “gentle,wayward poet of paint unsullied by fashionable trends…pursuing a highly personal course”
She referred to herself as a painter of “Romantic modern Landscapes” , magical realism which conveyed an innocent happiness.

Born the illegitimate daughter of Augustus John and the musician Nora Brownsword her work is totally unlike her fathers work. She shares a vision and style more reminiscent of the other prominent East Anglian artists of the mid twentieth century Mary Potter and Mary Newcombe in her delicate portrayal and dreamlike landscapes.
Gwyneth Johnstone studied at the Slade school of art and then with Andre Llote in Paris, despite her distant relationship with her father she shared a studio with him for a while and he painted a remarkable portrait of her during this time. Later she took lessons with Cecil Collins who introduced her to the work of Paul Klee and Christopher Wood adding another layer to her personal understanding of the “other’ in art.
She lived for a time in Ramatueelle near St Tropez, her love of the Mediterranean landscape continued with her move to the hills behind Benidorm where she painted with her friend Mary Fedden.

Gwyneth exhibited with The London Group , The Young Contemporaries and the Women’s International Art Club followed by solo shows from London to Los Angeles.

Her close relationship with her mother continued until death and they are buried together in the the church of St Theobold at Great Hautbois in Norfolk where they had made their home.

Gwyneth Johnstone

Works by the Artist