Gwen John's Art Soars: Major Shows Ignite Market Boom

This year's Edinburgh Art Festival is prominently showcasing the work of Welsh artist Gwen John (1876-1939) with its largest-ever exhibition. The National Galleries of Scotland: Modern Two is hosting this extensive display, which highlights John's prolific output, including numerous near-identical studies and sketches.

Recent exhibitions and upcoming museum shows in Cardiff, Edinburgh, Yale, and Washington have fueled growing admiration for John's elusive personality and captivating style. These events have worked to separate her artistic identity from her more famous brother, Augustus.

The market for Gwen John's work has experienced a dramatic surge in recent years. Between 2021 and today, the number of her works appearing at auction nearly doubled compared to the previous seven years.

Leading up to the Edinburgh exhibition, prices for her works on paper have escalated significantly. A portrait drawing sold for £58,500 in October 2022, setting a record for her drawings. Another drawing, previously sold for £14,340 in 2002, fetched £56,700 in 2023.

Best examples of her subjects, including cats and nuns, are hitting new market highs. One cat painting sold for a triple estimate of £32,760 in 2024. While Augustus John's drawings have reached £362,000, Gwen's oil paintings are commanding increasingly high prices.

Her oil painting "Girl in a Blue Dress" achieved a record £403,200 in 2024, surpassing its estimate. Experts suggest that upcoming museum shows, particularly in America, could push her prices closer to £1 million, marking a significant elevation of her standing in the art world.

Separately, art dealer James Birch is selling over 250 works from his private collection. This collection includes early works by Grayson Perry, such as "Saint Diana (Let Them Eat S---)" from 1984, estimated at £40,000. It also features items related to Birch's early interest in the Soviet Union and his landmark Francis Bacon show in Moscow.

The collection includes correspondence from Francis Bacon and a lithograph gifted by his companion. Other pieces were acquired directly from artists Birch promoted or received as gifts, including works by Christine and Jennifer Binnie, Conroy Maddox, and Reuben Mednikoff.

Birch also showed Christine Keeler in 2010 and has works related to David Bailey's photography, including a 1969 contact sheet estimated between £800-1,200.