John, Augustus Edwin

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Welsh painter. He is known for his vivacious portraits, including The Smiling Woman (1910; Tate Gallery, London), portraying his second wife, Dorelia McNeill. His sitters included such literary figures as Thomas Hardy, Dylan Thomas, W B Yeats, T E Lawrence, and James Joyce.

John's portraits are outstanding in their combined certainty of drawing and temperamental handling of paint. His sense of colour and a modified post-Impressionism appear in their most assured in his landscapes of the south of France and his flower pieces. He produced beautiful drawings of the figure at every stage of his career, and also some etchings.

His sister was the artist Gwen John.

Orange symbolizes the Sahara Desert. The orange disc represents the sun. Green recalls the country's forests. White stands for the River Niger. Effective date: 23 November 1959. >>