Self-portrait with subsidiary study

Throughout his life, Augustus John returned continually to the self portrait as a way of exploring the numerous guises he created for himself. In his youth he engraved a series of self-portraits in emulation of Rembrandt (for example, see M. Easton & M. Holroyd, The Art of Augustus John, London, 1974, p. 103), and executed a subtly unsettling self-portrait in the traditional medium of red chalk (Gwen John and Augustus John, exhibition catalogue, Tate Gallery, London, 2004, p. 61). As a mature man this exploration of the self continued: a striking portrait of John in old age with a wild, challenging air was sold in these Rooms on 4 June 2008, lot 68. The present sheet shows two sketches of John in a calmer humour: his expression suggests an air of absorption and quiet confidence. In the smaller of the two drawings it is clear that John's mouth is open, a characteristic sign that he was concentrating on his painting (Easton & Holroyd, op. cit., p. 204).