Young Woman In Meditation By Edwin Thomas Johns, English School 1931

A rare nude by the artist. He was known for portraits and landscapes. A painter and architect born in Ipswich, the son of a Welsh carpenter, Edwin studied at the Ipswich School of Art under W.T. Griffiths. In 1877, he became an apprentice to the architect James Butterworth (1831–1916) in Ipswich. After Butterworth's retirement, he completed his apprenticeship with William Eade (1841–1927), whose assistant he became. In 1921, his nephew, Martin Johns Slater, joined him, and they operated under the name Johns & Slater until Johns' retirement in 1933. An accomplished painter, particularly skilled in watercolour, which became his principal passion later in life, Johns exhibited regularly each year at the Ipswich Art Club from 1887 to 1947, where he served for a time as secretary and president. He also exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, and a portrait of him is in the collection of the Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service. (Measures with frame: 58cm x 71cm)