Francis Derwent Wood RA, Bust of Augustus John, R.A.

Bust of Augustus John, R.A., 1916

Francis Derwent Wood RA (1871 - 1926)

RA Collection: Art

A notoriously bohemian member of the New English Art Club, Augustus John was astonished by his election to the R.A. in 1928. He said

'I had never sent a picture before the Selection Committee. In our circles it simply wasn't done… In our eyes the R.A. was so bad that no self-respecting artist would be seen dead in it.'

John resigned from the Academy in 1938, when Wyndham Lewis's portrait of T.S. Eliot not selected for the Summer Exhibition. He was reinstated in 1940.

Object details

Title
Bust of Augustus John, R.A.
Artist/designer
Date
1916
Object type
Sculpture
Medium
Bronze bust on marble base
Dimensions

432 mm x 280 mm

Collection
Royal Academy of Arts
Object number
03/1705
Acquisition
Given by Florence Derwent Wood 1953
return to start
back

Start exploring the RA Collection

read more
  • Explore art works, paint-smeared palettes, scribbled letters and more...
  • Artists and architects have run the RA for 250 years.
    Our Collection is a record of them.
Start exploring