The sitter in this portrait, who appears in almost fifty paintings by Gwen John, is unidentified and known only as the “convalescent model.” With its muted colour scheme, it is one of four virtually identical works, all unusually large by John’s standards. Unlike her brother, Augustus John, her reputation as an artist was not established until several years after her death. Sentimentalizing about his sister, Augustus said, “Fifty years after my death I shall be remembered as Gwen John’s brother.”
