Augustus John

1878-1961
Dorelia standing before a Fence
c1903-04

Oil on canvas
2020 x 1220 mm
Presented by Tate Members 2003 T11761

Augustus John was one of the most celebrated British artists of the early twentieth century. His art was driven by a romantic fascination with the gypsy life. Infatuated with the woman in this portrait, Dorothy McNeill, John transformed her into an imaginary gypsy with a new name, 'Dorelia'. Here, in gypsy costume, she suggests a full-length version of the Mona Lisa, poised, with an enigmatic expression, in front of an impossible and remote landscape. It is a fantasy portrait of a woman taken away from the modern world, on the threshold of what may be a gateway, echoed by the opening of her jacket.