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Augustus John

Augustus John (1878-1961) was a Welsh painter, born at Tenby[?] in Pembrokeshire on January 4, 1878. After studying at the Slade School of Art[?] in London, he went to Paris, where he began to make a name for himself.

Although well-known for his etchings, the bulk of his work consists of portraits of women, the subjects including his wife and the famous cellist, Guillhermina Suggia[?]. He also painted several distinguished contemporaries, including his fellow-countryman, Dylan Thomas.

He is said to have been the model for the painter depicted in Joyce Carey[?]'s novel The Horse's Mouth, which was also filmed with Alec Guinness in the part.

By his first wife, Ida Nettleship (1877-1907), he had five children, and by his mistress Dorothy "Dorelia" McNeill, who later became his second wife, he had two children. By Ian Fleming's mother, Evelyn St. Croix Rose Fleming, he had a daughter, Amaryllis Fleming[?] (1925-1999), a noted cellist. He was noted for his rampant heterosexuality and conducted numerous affairs with both notable and obscure women.

Augustus John died in Fordingbridge[?], Hampshire on October 13, 1961.



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