Portrait of Auguste Rodin

In 1904, Gwen John arrived in Paris with Dorelia McNeill. In that same year she began modelling for the sculptor Auguste Rodin and became his lover after being introduced by Hilda Flodin. Rodin used John as a model for a muse in his unfinished monument to Whistler. During her years in Paris, John met many of the leading artists of the time including Matisse, Picasso and Brâncuși.

John’s reputation has grown significantly in recent years and she is currently the subject of a major retrospective - at Pallant House Gallery, Chichester and travelling to The Holburne Museum, Bath.