Podcast 8: Art and Conflict

At the start of the podcast, Katie reminds us about the 2 war related paintings she has already discussed, the Jankel Adler and Barry's 'War Time Nocturne'.
And then in this podcast, she goes on to discuss the scene depicted by Augustus John in his drawing entitled 'Canadian Soldiers':

and then Lesley Cole's depiction of 'Mary, Young girl with Doll'. Cole was Swindon's only war artist, and we're very pleased to celebrate his work, particularly this haunting image painted in 1946:

finally Katie talks about 'Road Kill' produced by Prudence Malty in 2013. This picture formed part of the Cicatrix exhibition in the Gallery.

To hear the podcast, please click on this link: Podcast 8
Katie also let us know that her next podcast will be a longer one, released to coincide with when she would have been giving a talk at the Swindon Spring Festival which would have been taking place from Monday. Due to Covid-19, it is now a virtual spring festival.

Drawings by Gwen and Augustus John: Podcast 4

Siblings at the Slade School of Art which they attended at the same time, although Augustus John arrived there before Gwen. Swindon Museum and Art Gallery contains several drawings by the siblings, as before, Katie Ackrill talks about three of the works in her podcast. They are seen below:
'Four Figures in Classical Dress seen below was drawn by Augustus while still at the Slade under the influence of his tutor, Henry Tonks

This is an etching by Augustus John of W.B.Yeats, Yeats commented that Augustus made all sitters look awful, in the end John Singer-Sergeant was given the job of producing a more flattering portrait.

'Portrait of a Lady' was produced by Gwen John in 1908, and although in life she was overshadowed by her brother and Auguste Rodin, her reputation has grown since then. Apparently to save money while at the Slade, the siblings shared accommodation and lived on a diet of fruit and nuts!

 Podcast 4
can be found by clicking on the link above.