Oil paint on canvas
Tate Britain
Tate Collection
Works with images
Works on display
General Collection
Collection
<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>
Dorelia in a Black Dress
Presented by the Trustees of the Duveen Paintings Fund 1949
actions: postures and motions
adults
arms folded
individuals: female
McNeill, Dorothy, ‘Dorelia’
named individuals
people
portraits
standing
woman
<p>This painting shows Dorelia McNeill, a friend of Gwen John who later became the partner of her brother, Augustus. John portrays her in an informal, intimate way. Her attitude may suggest self-confidence. John painted the work whilst she and McNeill were walking through France, sleeping rough and earning money from sketching and singing. The 20th century saw an expansion of opportunities for women. John and McNeill both trained at the Slade School of Art, which was more liberal than the older Royal Academy. They were part of a group of ‘Bohemians’, artists and intellectuals who lived experimental life-styles.</p><p><em>Gallery label, November 2021</em></p>
painting oil paint canvas
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
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
17 May 2018 – 16 February 2019
2019-02-16
17 May 2018 – 16 February 2019
2019-02-16
2018-05-17
Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand – MASP (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
2018-05-17
Picture Gallery in Transformation
Loan-out
9 March 2020 – 3 January 2021
2021-01-03
9 March 2020 – 3 January 2021
2021-01-03
2020-03-09
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2020-03-09
Gwen John
Collection based display
31 October 2022
8 February 2021
2021-02-08
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2022-10-31
Gallery 5A
Collection based display
13 May 2023 – 30 April 2024
2024-04-30
13 May 2023 – 8 October 2023
2023-10-08
2023-05-13
Pallant House Gallery (Chichester, UK)
27 October 2023 – 30 April 2024
2024-04-30
2023-10-27
Holburne Museum of Art (Bath, UK)
http://www.bath.ac.uk/Holburne/
2023-05-13
Gwen John: Art and Life in London and Paris
Loan-out
Dorelia in a Black Dress
support: 730 × 489 mm
frame: 885 × 645 × 113 mm
Presented by the Trustees of the Duveen Paintings Fund 1949
<div class="text">
<p>This painting shows Dorelia McNeill, a friend of Gwen John who later became the partner of her brother, Augustus. John portrays her in an informal, intimate way. Her attitude may suggest self-confidence. John painted the work whilst she and McNeill were walking through France, sleeping rough and earning money from sketching and singing. The 20th century saw an expansion of opportunities for women. John and McNeill both trained at the Slade School of Art, which was more liberal than the older Royal Academy. They were part of a group of ‘Bohemians’, artists and intellectuals who lived experimental life-styles.</p>
</div>

Display caption
2021-11-09T00:00:00
display-caption
DISPLAY_CAPTION
<p><b>N05910</b> DORELIA IN A BLACK DRESS <i>c.</i> 1902
<br/> 
<br/>Not inscribed.
<br/>Canvas, 28 3/4×19 1/4 (73×49).
<br/>Presented by the Duveen Paintings Fund 1949.
<br/><i>Coll:</i> Mrs Ursula Tyrwhitt; purchased by the Duveen Paintings Fund at the New Chenil Galleries 1926.
<br/><i>Exh:</i> New Chenil Galleries, May–July 1926 (44); <i>Meisterwerke Englischer Malerei aus Drei Jahrhunderten</i>, Secession, Vienna, September–November 1927 (159); Arts Council, <i>Ethel Walker, Frances Hodgkins, Gwen John</i>, Tate Gallery, May–June 1952 (177).
<br/><i>Lit:</i> John Rothenstein, <i>Modern English Painters: Sickert to Smith</i>, 1952, p.167.
<br/><i>Repr:</i> <i>The Listener</i>, 8 May 1952, front cover.</p>
<p>In <i>c.</i> 1902 Gwen John went to France with Dorelia MacNiel, who later became Augustus John's second wife. They went to Paris by way of Bordeaux and Toulouse. It was during their three months' stay in Toulouse that Gwen John painted this <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/portrait" title="Glossary definition for 'Portrait'"><span>portrait</span></a> and another called ‘Dorelia at Toulouse’. Both were painted directly on to the <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/c/canvas" title="Glossary definition for 'Canvas'"><span>canvas</span></a> without any preliminary studies.</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
2004-10-08T00:00:00
catalogue-entry
CATALOGUE_ENTRY
actions: postures and motions adults arms folded individuals: female McNeill, Dorothy, ‘Dorelia’ named individuals people portraits standing woman