Augustus John was born in Tenby and moved to London to study alongside his sister Gwen at the Slade School of Art. John was quickly recognised as one of the most talented painters of his generation and given great leeway as a military painter during the First World War. By the end of the war John was easily the best known artist in Britain and he began a successful career in portrait painting, much of which was done in this house which he had especially built for his studios.
