Signed l.r.: John

Pencil, 34 by 19 cm

Provenance: Wyndham T.Vint

The virtuosic drawings executed by John between c.1903 and 1910 are for many the most lasting testament to his talent as an artist. Their primary inspiration was to be found in his muse (and later, wife) Dorelia McNeill, whom he had first met in 1903 and who remained with him until his death in 1961. His drawings of her in the fluid style of their execution in graphite most immediately reveal John’s genius, whether in the many portrait studies which capture her striking beauty to the full-length drapery studies which are nonetheless equally suggestive of her elegant physique. This drawing can be closely compared to Woman standing of c.1908 now in the Art Gallery of New South Wales (acc.no.295), also probably a study of Dorelia.