Oil paint on canvas
Tate Collection
Works with images
General Collection
Collection
<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/augustus-john-om-1362" aria-label="More by Augustus John OM" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">Augustus John OM</a>
Colonel TE Lawrence
Presented by the Duke of Westminster 1920
adults
dagger / knife
dress: nations/regions
history
individuals: male
Lawrence, Thomas Edward, Colonel, ‘of Arabia’
man
Middle East
military
military: World War I
named individuals
objects
people
portraits
society
soldier
weapons
work and occupations
World War I - non-specific
<p>After service as a war artist in World War I, John found fashionable success with his portraits of famous literary and society figures such as Thomas Hardy, James Joyce and Lady Ottoline Morrell.</p><p>Popularly known as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, TE Lawrence became famous for his exploits as British Military liaison officer during the Arab Revolt of 1916-18. In 1919 he acted as adviser and interpreter for his friend the Emir Feisal at the Paris Peace Conference, where John painted many official portraits, including one of the Emir.</p><p><em>Gallery label, July 2008</em></p>
painting oil paint canvas
11 October 2005 – 17 April 2006
2006-04-17
11 October 2005 – 17 April 2006
2006-04-17
2005-10-11
Imperial War Museum (London, UK)
http://www.iwm.org.uk/
2005-10-11
Lawrence of Arabia: The Life, The Legend
Loan-out
7 December 2007 – 25 May 2008
2008-05-25
7 December 2007 – 25 May 2008
2008-05-25
2007-12-07
Australian War Memorial (Canberra, Australia)
2007-12-07
Lawrence of Arabia and the Light Horse: the road to Damascus
Loan-out
4 February 2008 – 31 May 2009
2009-05-31
26 September 2008 – 11 January 2009
2009-01-11
2008-09-26
Pera Museum (Istanbul, Turkey)
18 February 2009 – 30 April 2009
2009-04-30
2009-02-18
Sharjah Art Museum (Sharjah, UAE)
2008-02-04
The Lure of the East: British Orientalist Painting
Loan-out
7 February 2008 – 30 April 2009
2009-04-30
4 June 2008 – 31 August 2008
2008-08-31
2008-06-04
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
26 September 2008 – 4 January 2009
2009-01-04
2008-09-26
Pera Museum (Istanbul, Turkey)
18 February 2009 – 30 April 2009
2009-04-30
2009-02-18
Sharjah Art Museum (Sharjah, UAE)
2008-02-07
British Orientalist Painting
Exhibition
25 November 2015 – 10 April 2016
2016-04-10
25 November 2015 – 10 April 2016
2016-04-10
2015-11-25
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
3 October 2016 – 29 January 2017
2017-01-29
2016-10-03
National Gallery of Singapore (Singapore, Singapore)
2015-11-25
Artist and Empire
Exhibition
25 November 2015 – 26 March 2017
2017-03-26
6 October 2016 – 26 March 2017
2017-03-26
2016-10-06
National Gallery of Singapore (Singapore, Singapore)
2015-11-25
Artist and Empire
Loan-out
1 May 2018 – 30 September 2019
2019-09-30
1 May 2018 – 30 September 2018
2018-09-30
2018-05-01
Poole Museum (Poole, UK)
1 May 2019 – 30 September 2019
2019-09-30
2019-05-01
The Salisbury Museum (Salisbury, UK)
http://www.salisburymuseum.org.uk
2018-05-01
Augustus John
Loan-out
Colonel T.E. Lawrence
support: 800 × 597 mm
frame: 997 × 795 × 76 mm
Presented by the Duke of Westminster 1920
<div class="pbodytext">
<span class="text14">After service as a <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/w/war-artists" title="Glossary definition for 'War Artists'"><span>war artist</span></a> in World War I, John      found fashionable success with his <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>portraits</span></a> of famous literary and society      </span><span class="text6">figures such as Thomas Hardy, James Joyce</span><span class="text14"> and Lady Ottoline Morrell. </span>
</div>
<div class="para9">
<span class="text14">
<br/> </span>
</div>
<div class="pbodytext">
<span class="text14">Popularly known as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, </span><span class="text15">TE Lawrence became famous for his exploits</span><span class="text14"> as British Military liaison officer during the Arab Revolt of      1916-18. In 1919 he acted as adviser and interpreter for his friend the      Emir Feisal at the Paris Peace Conference, </span><span class="text16">where      John painted many official portraits,</span><span class="text14"> including      one of the Emir. </span>
</div>

Display caption
2008-07-30T00:00:00
display-caption
DISPLAY_CAPTION
<p><b>N03566</b> COLONEL T. E. LAWRENCE 1919
<br/> 
<br/>Not inscribed.
<br/>Canvas, 31 1/2×23 1/2 (80×59).
<br/>Presented by the Duke of Westminster 1920.
<br/><i>Coll:</i> Purchased by the Duke of Westminster at the Alpine Club Gallery 1920.
<br/><i>Exh:</i> Alpine Club Gallery, March 1920 (8); Temple Newsam, Leeds, July–August 1946 (35).
<br/><i>Lit:</i> John, 1952, pp.238, 244–7.
<br/><i>Repr:</i> Exh. cat., British Council, <i>Contemporary British Art</i>, Warsaw, Helsingfors and Stockholm, 1939 (44); Mervyn Levy, <i>Drawing and Painting for Young People</i>, 1960, facing p.32 (in colour).</p>
<p>Better known as Lawrence of Arabia, T. E. Lawrence was born in 1888. During the 1914–18 war he became the driving force behind the Arabs' offensive and defensive movements against the Turks; after the war he recorded his Middle Eastern experiences in <i>Seven Pillars of Wisdom</i>. He joined the R.A.F. as an Aircraftman in 1922 under the name of T. E. Shaw, describing this period of his life in <i>The Mint</i>. He was killed in a motor-cycle accident in 1935.</p>
<p>It was during the Peace Conference of 1919 that John became friendly with Lawrence who was in Paris championing the cause of King Feisal and the Arabs. Lawrence enjoyed being painted and was always amused by the results. In a letter to John he referred to 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> as the ‘rebellious’ or ‘wrathful’ one, and was amused that it ‘went off at top speed for a thousand to a Duke!’ Actually Lawrence himself wanted to buy this picture but the price was too high.</p>
<p>John painted two other portraits of Lawrence at this time; one of them, referred to by Lawrence as the ‘goody-goody one’, was exhibited with the Tate Gallery picture at the Alpine Club Gallery in 1920 (29), while the other John referred to as a ‘dud’. John did several <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/d/drawing" title="Glossary definition for 'Drawing'"><span>drawings</span></a> of Lawrence, and also painted portraits of him as Aircraftman Shaw at a later date.</p>
<p>For other portraits of Lawrence see Eric Kennington, <a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/kennington-head-of-t-e-lawrence-n05438" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>N05438</span></a> and <a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/kennington-reclining-figure-of-t-e-lawrence-replica-n06230" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>N06230</span></a>, and F. Derwent Wood, <a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/wood-colonel-t-e-lawrence-n03602" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>N03602</span></a>.</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
adults dagger / knife dress: nations/regions history individuals: male Lawrence, Thomas Edward, Colonel, ‘of Arabia’ man Middle East military military: World War I named individuals objects people portraits society soldier weapons work and occupations World War I - non-specific