The friends
(c. 1898-1899)
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
46.0 × 33.4 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Mrs C. H. Collins-Baker, 1947
Gallery location
19th Century European Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
Gwen John’s paintings of women and girls with books have often been thought to reflect her introspective nature and spiritual leanings. The reverse, however, may be true of her Interior with figures of (c. 1898–99). It shows two of John’s closest friends and fellow painters, Ida Nettleship and Gwen Salmond, when all three were studying in Paris and living together in Montparnasse. Nettleship recalled that the friends were much taken up with fashion research on behalf of her mother, a theatrical costumier, and that she, ‘Gwen S’ and ‘Gwen J’ were spending their days pouring over fashion plates and painting portraits of one another.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Paris, France
Accession Number
1737-4
Department
International Painting
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited
Subjects (general)
Daily Life Human Figures Relationships and Interactions
Subjects (specific)
artists' portraits dresses (garments) group portraits painters (artists) reading (activity) rooms (interior spaces) women (female humans) youth (people)
Provenance
With Leicester Galleries, London (label on reverse), possibly early 20th century; collection of Charles Henry (1880–1959) and Muriel Collins-Baker (1874/75–1956), London and California, before 1947; gift of Muriel Collins-Baker to the NGV, 1947.
Probably exh. Paintings, Pastels and Etchings by Augustus E. John, Paintings by Gwendolen M. John, Carfax Gallery, London 1903, no. 6; Gwen John, An Interior Life, Barbican Gallery, London 1985, no. 3.
Frame
This frame is in the form of Louis XIV revival frames made up from composition decorative work on a wooden base.
These frames have been used extensively as the default frame for many paintings, particularly the paintings of the French Impressionists.
A number of frames in this form were made by the John Thallon company for the NGV, notably to replace the original frames on nineteenth century Australian paintings.
The frame has counterparts in those found on: Walter SICKERT Resting - La Giuseppina, Jean-Francois MILLET Susanna and the Elders, John CROME Woodland path.
Frame Details
Framemaker
Unknown - 20th century
Materials
timber, composition, gold leaf