Oil paint on canvas
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<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/gwen-john-1363" aria-label="More by Gwen John" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">Gwen John</a>
Nude Girl
Presented by the Contemporary Art Society 1917
actions: postures and motions
adults
arts and entertainment
clothing and personal items
female
individuals: female
Lovell, Fenella
model
named individuals
necklace
nudes
objects
people
portraits
sitting
woman
work and occupations
<p>John’s limited use of colour and the minimal setting here draw attention to the sitter’s naked body. Although unnamed in the title, the subject is Fenella Lovell, an artist’s model whom John painted several times. The rigid pose and the slight distortion of the figure suggest tension, and the direct gaze challenges expectations of the passive female nude. This may reflect John’s own experience modelling or her known dislike of Lovell. In a profession still largely dominated by men, John had to struggle for recognition as an artist. Today, she is widely recognised for her intimate portraits.</p><p><em>Gallery label, October 2020</em></p>
painting oil paint canvas
24 September 2003 – 1 February 2004
2004-02-01
24 September 2003 – 11 January 2004
2004-01-11
2003-09-24
Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie (Frankfurt, Germany)
http://www.staedelmuseum.de
2003-09-24
Naked! The Female Body and the Rise of Modernism
Loan-out
29 September 2004 – 15 May 2005
2005-05-15
29 September 2004 – 9 January 2005
2005-01-09
2004-09-29
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
12 February 2005 – 15 May 2005
2005-05-15
2005-02-12
Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales (Cardiff, UK)
2004-09-29
Gwen John and Augustus John
Exhibition
29 October 2006 – 17 June 2007
2007-06-17
29 October 2006 – 19 December 2006
2006-12-19
2006-10-29
Djanogly Art Gallery (Nottingham, UK)
13 January 2007 – 15 April 2007
2007-04-15
2007-01-13
Laing Art Gallery (Newcastle upon Tyne, UK)
http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/
30 April 2007 – 17 June 2007
2007-06-17
2007-04-30
Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery (Norwich, UK)
http://www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk
2006-10-29
From Victorian to Modern: Laura Knight, Vanessa Bell, Gwen John 1890 - 1920
Loan-out
15 September 2007 – 31 March 2009
2009-03-31
15 September 2007 – 31 March 2009
2009-03-31
2007-09-15
Tate Liverpool (Liverpool, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/liverpool/
2007-09-15
Bathers
Collection based display
9 October 2009 – 23 February 2010
2010-02-23
9 October 2009 – 23 February 2010
2010-02-23
2009-10-09
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2009-10-09
Independently Modern
Collection based display
16 October 2010 – 4 November 2012
2012-11-04
16 October 2010 – 4 November 2012
2012-11-04
2010-10-16
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2010-10-16
Gallery 10
Collection based display
14 December 2012 – 26 September 2022
2022-09-26
10 December 2012 – 25 September 2022
2022-09-25
2012-12-10
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2012-12-14
Gallery 4
Collection based display
5 November 2016 – 31 August 2025
2025-08-31
5 November 2016 – 5 February 2017
2017-02-05
2016-11-05
Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia)
http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au
18 March 2017 – 16 July 2017
2017-07-16
2017-03-18
Auckland Art Gallery (Auckland, New Zealand)
11 August 2017 – 4 February 2018
2018-02-04
2017-08-11
Seoul Olympic Museum of Art (Seoul, South Korea)
24 March 2018 – 24 June 2018
2018-06-24
2018-03-24
Yokohama Museum of Art (Yokohama, Japan)
13 July 2018 – 28 October 2018
2018-10-28
2018-07-13
Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts (Kaohsiung, Taiwan)
10 November 2023 – 14 April 2024
2024-04-14
2023-11-10
LWL-Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte Westfälisches (Munster, Germany)
http://landesmuseum.lwl.org
23 November 2024 – 3 March 2025
2025-03-03
2024-11-23
Worcester Art Museum (Worcester, USA)
http://www.worcesterart.org
1 April 2025 – 31 August 2025
2025-08-31
2025-04-01
External
2016-11-05
Nude: art from the Tate collection
Tate partnerships & programmes
7 February 2026 – 28 November 2027
2027-11-28
7 February 2026 – 28 June 2026
2026-06-28
2026-02-07
Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales (Cardiff, UK)
1 August 2026 – 4 January 2027
2027-01-04
2026-08-01
National Galleries of Scotland (Edinburgh, UK)
18 February 2027 – 20 June 2027
2027-06-20
2027-02-18
Yale Center for British Art (New Haven, USA)
http://ycba.yale.edu/index.asp
30 July 2027 – 28 November 2027
2027-11-28
2027-07-30
National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington D.C, USA)
2026-02-07
Gwen John
Loan-out
Nude Girl
support: 445 × 279 mm
frame: 539 × 371 × 55 mm
Presented by the <a href="/search?gid=999999975" data-gtm-name="tombstone_link_bequest" data-gtm-destination="list-page--search-results">Contemporary Art Society</a> 1917
<div class="text">
<p>John’s limited use of colour and the minimal setting here draw attention to the sitter’s naked body. Although unnamed in the title, the subject is Fenella Lovell, an artist’s model whom John painted several times. The rigid pose and the slight distortion of the figure suggest tension, and the direct gaze challenges expectations of the passive female nude. This may reflect John’s own experience modelling or her known dislike of Lovell. In a profession still largely dominated by men, John had to struggle for recognition as an artist. Today, she is widely recognised for her intimate portraits.</p>
</div>

Display caption
2020-10-13T00:00:00
display-caption
DISPLAY_CAPTION
<p><b>N03173</b> NUDE GIRL
<br/> 
<br/>Not inscribed.
<br/>Canvas, 17 1/2×11 (44·5×28).
<br/>Presented by the Contemporary Art Society 1917.
<br/><i>Coll:</i> An anonymous member of the C.A.S. Committee who presented it to the Society in 1911.
<br/><i>Exh:</i> C.A.S., <i>Loan Exhibition</i>, Manchester, winter 1911 (225); C.A.S., <i>First Public Exhibition in London</i>, Goupil Gallery, April 1913 (66); C.A.S., <i>Purchases and Gifts</i>, 53 Grosvenor Street, June 1914 (9); C.A.S., <i>Modern Paintings</i>, Belfast, November 1914 (7); Matthiesen Gallery, September–October 1946 (40); Arts Council, <i>Ethel Walker, Frances Hodgkins, Gwen John</i>, Tate Gallery, May–June 1952 (103).
<br/><i>Repr:</i> <i>Burlington Magazine</i>, LXXXI, 1942, p.239, pl.2a; <i>The Listener</i>, 10 October 1946, p.484.</p>
<p>Fenella Lovell, who used to pose for Gwen John in Paris, was probably the model for this and for another picture, showing her in the same pose but wearing a white dress; this was purchased by the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 1958 (repr. <i><a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/p/painting" title="Glossary definition for 'Painting'"><span>Painting</span></a> and <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/s/sculpture" title="Glossary definition for 'Sculpture'"><span>Sculpture</span></a> Acquisitions</i>, 1958, p.6).</p>
<p><b>Published in:</b>
<br/>Mary Chamot, Dennis Farr and Martin Butlin, <i>The Modern British Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture</i>, London 1964, I
<br/></p>

Catalogue entry
2004-10-05T00:00:00
catalogue-entry
CATALOGUE_ENTRY
actions: postures and motions adults arts and entertainment clothing and personal items female individuals: female Lovell, Fenella model named individuals necklace nudes objects people portraits sitting woman work and occupations