Warpaint by Alicia Foster is a compelling tale of truth and lies, tragedy and black comedy, loosely based on the lives of four painters of the time. England, 1942: a dark world of conflict, hardship and subterfuge where information is a matter of life and death and art has become a weapon. In a gothic villa deep in the woods near Bletchley Park, the 'Black' propaganda team use intelligence to make propaganda designed to demoralise the enemy. For Vivienne Thayer, employed as an artist at the villa, the war has worked out well so far, she has an indulgent husband and a new lover. And while the government quibbles over what cannot be shown officially, at the villa there are no such restrictions - but where does the subterfuge end? Meanwhile, on the Home Front, three women painters - Laura Knight, Faith Farr and Cecily Browne - have been tasked by the War Artist's Advisory Committee with recording wartime life, brightening the existence of a public starved of culture, and summoning up the bulldog spirit in their art. Together they must battle with the men in power, including Churchill himself, to control the stories that can be told. As the course of the war turns and the lives of both groups collide, each woman must ask herself what can be revealed and what must be concealed, even from those closest to them. 'In a plot full of twists, turns, double crossing and espionage, this whip-smart thriller, loosely based on real events, has great characters, authentic detail, poignancy and black comedy' Sunday Mirror 'Fascinating . . . weaving together real-life events and fiction, Warpaint is an intriguing examination of the demands made on personal and artistic lives by the extreme circumstances that exist in wartime conditions' Metro Alicia Foster grew up in Yorkshire and lives in Kent. She has a PhD in Art History and when she's not writing herself, she teaches art students. Warpaint is her first novel.

Warpaint

Literature & Fiction

Foster, Alicia

Genre Fiction

Fig Tree

Four women create propaganda in WWII's darkest hour in this gripping fact-based debut novel for fans of The Night Watch and Charlotte Gray Buckinghamshire, 1942: in a gothic villa deep in woods near Bletchley Park, artist Vivienne Thayer paints "Black" propaganda to demoralize the enemy. Despite government restrictions, she enjoys her work—and finds time for a lover as well as her indulgent husband—but where do acts of subterfuge end? Meanwhile, in London, three women painters—Laura Knight, Faith Farr, and Cecily Browne—record wartime life. Instructed by the men in power, even Churchill himself, they must conjure up the bulldog spirit. But as the war's course turns and the lives of these artists collide, each must ask herself what truths and what lies they are prepared to tell, even to those closest to them.

United States

Penguin

This beautifully illustrated biography of the artist Gwen John explores her life and work in the context of the art worlds in London and Paris. Gwen John was one of the most significant British artists of the earlyto mid-twentieth century, active in Paris and London, and featured inthe highly influential avant-garde Armory Show in New York in 1913. Demolishing the myth of the recluse, this sustained critical biography of a much-loved artist locates her firmly in the art worlds of London and Paris, where she chose to live and work. Written by Alicia Foster, a critically praised art historian and authority on the artist, Gwen John is based on original research, and examines John's importance in the context of twentieth-century art. While tracing the development of her work and its significance, the biography also explores John's relationships both personal and artistic, including her friendship with Rainer Maria Rilke and her romance with sculptor Auguste Rodin. John, who was born in Wales, spent the latter part of the nineteenth century in London and then moved to Paris where she remained for the rest of her life. She was a contemporary of Paul Cézanne, Marie Laurencin, Paula Modersohn-Becker, and Edouard Vuillard. The book brings these two fascinating cities and John's milieu to life and introduces readers to lesser-known artists whose lives and works have slipped into obscurity. Both a study of an artist whose importance and recognition continues to grow, and of the artistic world of Europe in the early twentieth century, this book provides a compelling portrait for anyone interested in the life and work of a key figure in the history of art.

Gwen John: Art and Life in London and Paris

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

Thames&Hudson

From London in the 1890s to Paris in the early twentieth century, Gwen John's career spanned some of the most exciting periods and places in cultural history. Demolishing the myth of Gwen John (1876-1939) as a recluse, this new survey explores the art world at the center of these cities and reveals the alliances and differences the artist had with her contemporaries. John's representation of the female nude, her paintings of interiors, and the effects of her Catholic faith on her work are all considered. The author also discusses the key relationship between John's position as a woman artist and her fascination with the portrayal of the female sitter.

Gwen John

Individual Artists

Princeton University Press

Radical Women tells an original story of British modernism from the perspective of Jessica Dismorr's career, along with the women artists—some famous, some lesser known—she worked and exhibited with. The work of Jessica Dismorr (1885-1939) has been described as encapsulating 'the stylistic developments of twentieth-century British Art', and her oeuvre certainly encompasses some its most exciting moments—from Rhythm in the early 1910s, through Vorticism, towards post-war modernist figuration and finally into the abstraction she shared with radical political artists groups in the 1930s. Within this period of intense creativity, which extended beyond art to literary and design accomplishments too, Dismorr was privileged to work and exhibit alongside some of the most exciting female artists of the time, including Barbara Hepworth and Winifred Nicholson, to lesser-known figures such as Dorothy Shakespear, Anne Estelle Rice and Helen Saunders. Bringing a web of fascinating connections to light for the first time, this publication provides a fresh interpretation of a pioneering period and the role women played within it.

Radical Women: Jessica Dismorr and her Contemporaries

Lund Humphries

Gwen John (1876–1939) was an artist with a singular vision, one whose intense gaze produced some of the most beguiling and atmospheric paintings of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This concise survey of her life and work places John—often unfairly thought of as a recluse—at the artistic heart of London and Paris. A seminal figure within these circles, her work is reappraised in that context and explored in terms of the alliances and differences John had with her contemporaries. Gwen John’s representation of the female nude, her paintings of interiors, and the effect of her Catholic faith on her work are all discussed. The author also discusses the key relationship between John’s position as a woman artist and her lifelong fascination with the portrayal of the female sitter.

Tate British Artists: Gwen John

Tate Publishing

Part of a series of monographs on the lives and careers of influential British artists, from the 18th century onwards. This volume denies Gwen John's reputation as a recluse, and discusses the key relationship between her position as a female artist and her fascination with the portrayal of women.

Tate Pub Ltd

The Tate collection contains works by more than 200 women artists spanning five centuries. In this celebration of the history of women's creative endeavor, Alicia Foster discusses the changes in the position of women artists from the 17th century, when they received little recognition, to the present-day art world, which encompasses a dazzling array of women painters, sculptors, conceptual artists, and video- and filmmakers. The author shows how artists as diverse as Angelica Kauffmann and Cindy Sherman share a concern with feminine identity and representation. Tate Women Artists makes an important contribution to one of the most hotly debated areas of art history.

Tate Women Artists

Tate

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Foster, Alicia. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Foster, Alicia

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Foster, Alicia. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Warpaint

Warpaint

Gwen John: Art and Life in London and Paris

Gwen John

Radical Women: Jessica Dismorr and her Contemporaries

Tate British Artists: Gwen John

Gwen John

Tate Women Artists