A rare painting by Welsh artist Gwen John, titled "Girl Reading at a Window" (c.1911), will go on public display in Edinburgh for the first time since 1964. The work is part of a major exhibition, "Gwen John: Strange Beauties," opening August 1 at Modern Two and running until January 4, 2027. The show features over 200 works, including oil paintings, watercolours, sketches, and archival materials, and marks the first major presentation of John's work in Scotland. Another painting, "Young Woman with a Coral Necklace," previously owned by scholar Mary Edmond Taubman, has been loaned by her family in her memory.
The exhibition matters because it brings renewed attention to Gwen John, a significant but historically underrecognized Welsh modernist painter whose career was often overshadowed by her brother Augustus John. By showcasing rarely seen works and exploring her connections to Scotland, the show contributes to the ongoing re-evaluation of women artists in art history. The partnership between Amgueddfa Cymru, the National Galleries of Scotland, the Yale Center for British Art, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts underscores institutional efforts to broaden access to John's legacy.