AUGUSTUS JOHN, O.M., R.A. (1878–1961)
Female nude
signed John (lower right)
pencil
50 x 34.5 cm (19 3/4 x 13 1/2 in)
This drawing was torn up by the artist in a fit of anger, as referred to in a letter from Augustus John to Mrs Cazalet on 23 September 1939:
My dear Mrs Cazalet,
Do you think The Queen would sit for me at Windsor week-ends for an informal portrait? It would be wonderful if she would and I would have it in my show in America which Francis Taylor is organising. I would stay in some pub and no doubt there's a suitable room in the castle for painting. If she had a pretty costume with a hat I'm sure it would be a success and probably put Poppet in the shade. Please, please, propose it to Her Majesty. Francis Taylor is taking all my beloved drawings and things away (many of which I tore up by-the-by in a fit of madness, but he has pieced them together again!)
Yours affectionately
Augustus
Francis Taylor later persuaded him for the work to be pieced back together, a task which Taylor undertook himself.
We are grateful to Rebecca John for assisting us with this cataloguing
Sold for £250
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