Gwen John: A Seer of Strange Beauties

Curators Patrick Elliott, Rachel Stratton and Lucy Wood reflect on the work and legacy of Gwen John (1876–1939) on the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the artist’s birth, on 22 June 1876.

The exhibition reframes an artist long admired for her evocative, acutely observed portrayals of women, foregrounding the full scope of her artistic practice and challenging the gendered assumptions that have shaped her reception.

Born in Wales in 1876, John trained at the Slade School of Fine Art before moving to Paris in 1904. Over the course of her career, she pushed the boundaries of figurative representation, combining ideas from the British and French avant-gardes. Her practice evolved from realist portraiture to a refined, abstracted figuration deeply informed by her Catholic faith. A self-described “seer of strange beauties”, John developed serial working methods, producing multiple versions of compositions to reveal an essential, spiritual beauty in everyday subjects.

While best known for her intimate, muted oil paintings, John was also a prolific draughtswoman who considered her works on paper “quite as serious” as her paintings. Ranging from delicate landscape sketches to impromptu figure studies and vibrantly coloured still lifes, these lesser-known drawings and watercolours reveal the full scope of John’s artistic ambition. The exhibition brings together major oils from public and private collections across the UK and US, alongside rarely seen works on paper, including material from her studio collection at Amgueddfa Cymru. Building on new research, it reassesses the material and spiritual dimensions of her practice, her contribution to British art and her position within European modernism.

Organised by Amgueddfa Cymru, National Galleries Scotland, the Yale Center for British Art and the National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington, D.C.), Gwen John: Strange Beauties is the largest touring exhibition of John’s work to date.

Exhibition dates

National Museum Cardiff 7 February – 28 June 2026

National Galleries Scotland, Modern Two 1 August 2026 – 4 January 2027

Yale Center for British Art 18 February – 20 June 2027

National Museum of Women in the Arts 30 July – 28 November 2027

Participant biographies

Rachel Stratton is Interim Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. Previously, at the Yale Center for British Art, she co-curated exhibitions including Gwen John: Strange Beauties (2026–27) and Isaac Julien: Lina Bo Bardi – A Marvellous Entanglement (2023), alongside collection displays in modern and contemporary art. She has also held roles at the the Courtauld Institute of Art and Ben Uri Gallery and Museum. Rachel completed her doctoral thesis at the Courtauld Institute of Art in 2018. She is co-editor of Gwen John: Strange Beauties (Yale University Press, 2026) and her research has appeared in multiple peer-reviewed journals and exhibition catalogues.

Lucy Wood is Senior Curator of Art at Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales. She is co-curator of Gwen John: Strange Beauties (2026–27). Previously, she was Project Curator at the British Museum of the exhibition Feminine Power: The Divine to the Demonic (2022), and Associate Curator, Modern and Contemporary, at the National Portrait Gallery, where she curated exhibitions including Elizabeth Peyton: Aire and Angels (2019) and Njideka Akunyili Crosby: The Beautyful Ones (2018), alongside collection displays and artist commissions. She is a doctoral candidate at the University of Oxford and a board member of the Centre for Philosophy and the Arts, King’s College London. She is co-editor of Gwen John: Strange Beauties (Yale University Press, 2026).

Event schedule

5.30-6.30 pm: Brief welcome (5 mins) and panel discussion with Rachel Stratton and Lucy Wood

6.30 - 7 pm: Q&As chaired by Patrick Elliott

7-7.30 pm: Drinks reception

Image caption: Gwen John (1876–1939), The Pilgrim, ca. 1920, oil on canvas, 29 x 21 3/8 in. (73.7 x 54.3 cm), Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection: B1993.30.16

✖ Level access

✔ Livestreamed

✔ Recorded

✔ Hearing loop available (please contact [email protected])

✔ Closed caption on Zoom

✖ BSL

PMC Visitor Information - Accessibility Guide & Accessibility Map

If you wish to inform us of any access requirements, please email events@paul-mellon-centre.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Paul Mellon Centre