Gwen John - Young Woman Holding a Black Cat (Tate)

Gwen John (1876–1939), Welsh painter who was known for her self-portraits, quiet domestic interiors, and portraits of other women and who was until the late 20th century all but lost to history. After the death of her mother, an amateur painter, in 1884, John and her three siblings and father moved to the small town of Tenby, Wales. In 1895 she moved to London to live with her younger brother and fellow painter, Augustus John, and to join him at the Slade School of Fine Art, where he had been studying since 1894. Her drawing skills were acknowledged with a prize for figure composition in 1898, her final year at the school.