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ID number:  BIRBI-76.1
Institution:  The Barber Institute of Fine Arts
Artist / Maker:  John, Gwen (1876-1939)
Title / Object name:  Mère Poussepin
Object type:  Painting
Place made:  France
Culture:  British
Date made:  about 1915/20
Materials:  Oil on canvas
Measurements:  60.5 x 45.3 cm (unframed) 78 x 61 x 7 cm (framed)
Provenance:  Purchased by the Barber Institute from the Anthony d'Offay Gallery, Gwen John exhibition, March 1976 (No. 7)
BIRBI-76.1.jpg

Gwen John, sister of Augustus John, lived mostly in France, and became a devout Roman Catholic. This delicate and colouristically typical picture is one of several versions of the subject which she painted between about 1915 and 1925. It is based on a prayer-card image of the saintly nun who in 1684 founded the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin. In later life the artist spent much time at the convent in Meudon.

Notes:  Exhibitions: 'Augustus and Gwen John', Tate Britain and the National Museum of Wales, 2004; 'Reunited: Gwen John, Mere Poussepin and the Catjolic Church', The Barber Institute, June - 21 September 2008, 'Gwen John: Art and Life in London and Paris', Pallant House Gallery, 2023, 'Gwen John: Art and Life in London and Paris', Holbourne Museum, 2023-24,

1 Related People

John, Gwen
British
1876
1939

4 Related Publications

Gwen John and Augustus John
Batchelor, T.; Bustin, M.; Cieszkowski, K.; Langdale, C. and Tickner, L.
Tate Publishing
2004
Gwen John
Langdale, C.

1987
Reunited: Gwen John, Mère Poussepin and the Catholic Church
The Barber Institute of Fine Arts

2008
The Golden Jubilee of the Barber Institute
Spencer-Longhurst, Paul
Apollo

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