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Interior

1915

Gwen John

(British, 1876–1939)
Culture
England, 20th century
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
Unframed: 33 x 24.2 cm (13 x 9 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1982.6
Public Domain
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Location
223 20th Century Avant-Garde
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Did You Know?

The teapot depicted in this interior is a brown betty, a traditional, British-made teapot known for its red clay construction, distinctive round shape, and brown Rockingham glaze, which is believed to enhance tea flavor and heat retention.

Description

Gwen John worked slowly and meticulously, producing fewer than 200 paintings during her lifetime. Like this quiet interior with a table, teapot, and cups, her works were invariably small in size, muted in palette, and restrained in mood. About her life and art, she wrote to a friend, “I may never have anything to express, except this desire for a more interior life.” This is one of a series of four paintings of the same subject; the other versions are in the collections of the National Museum of Wales, the Yale Center for British Art, and the Yale University Art Gallery.
A vertically oriented oil painting captures a quiet interior scene rendered in muted earthy reds and grays. In the foreground, a small stool supports an open book with tan pages. Centrally, a round table is set with a bulbous brown teapot and white teacup resting on a folded newspaper. To the right, a dark fireplace mantel anchors the space, topped with brushes in a vessel. Tactile, textured brushstrokes define the composition.

Interior

1915

Gwen John

(British, 1876–1939)
England, 20th century

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