(b Tenby, 4 Jan 1878; d Fordingbridge, Hants, 31 Oct 1961). Brother of (1) Gwen John. He was educated locally and at Clifton, but in 1894 he left Wales for London and studied for four years at the Slade School of Fine Art under Henry Tonks and Frederick Brown. Here he soon emerged as a bohemian figure as well as a highly gifted artist. The need to support Ida Nettleship (1877–1907), whom he married in 1901, led him to accept a post teaching art at the University of Liverpool. John Sampson, then University Librarian and an acknowledged expert on gypsies, became a friend and a major influence on him, introducing him to the Romany language and way of life. This led him to spend periods travelling with his growing family in gypsy caravans through Wales and England and inspired much of his work before World War I, including a series of etchings depicting gypsy life.

Part of the John family

• John, Augustus (Edwin)
  • England, §XV, 2(ii): Art education, 1768–1920: The growth of new schools
  • London, §III, 6: Art life and organization, 1851–1909
  • London, §VI, 1: Royal Academy of Arts: Origins and development
  • catalogues
    • Dodgson, Campbell
  • groups and movements
    • Camden Town Group
    • New English Art Club
  • house
    • Hoff, Robert van ’t
  • patrons and collectors
    • Aitken, William Maxwell
  • personal collection
    • Moore, Henry, §1(i): Life and work, before 1940
  • pupils
    • Lamb, Henry
  • teachers
    • Brown, Frederick
    • England, §III, 5: Painting and graphic arts, c 1855–c 1914
    • Tonks, Henry
  • works
    • Frame, §IV, 11: Britain: Late 19th and 20th centuries
    • Wales, §III, 2: Painting and graphic arts, after c 1775