BFL42 - Gwen And Augustus John - Judith Mackrell

In Artists, Siblings, Visionaries, acclaimed biographer Judith Mackrell turns her attention to the brother and sister artists Augustus and Gwen John, who were in many ways polar opposites. Augustus was the larger of the two; vivid, volatile and promiscuous, he was a hero among romantics and bohemians, celebrated as one of the great British talents of his generation.  As a woman, Gwen's place in the art world was much smaller, and her private way of working and reserved nature meant it was only long after her death that her tremendous gifts were fully acknowledged. But her temperament was as turbulent as her brother's. She formed passionate attachments to men and women, including a long affair with the sculptor Rodin.

Judith Mackrell is a celebrated dance critic, writing first for The Independent and now for The Guardian. Her biography of the Russian ballerina Lydia Lopokova, Bloomsbury Ballerina was shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award. She has also appeared on television and radio, as well as writing on dance, co-authoring The Oxford Dictionary of Dance.