Charlotte Johnson Wahl
Charlotte Johnson Wahl (née Fawcett, born 1940 / 1942) is a British artist,[1] also known as the mother of Boris Johnson, Mayor of London.[2]
Early life and education
She is the daughter of James Fawcett, and his wife Frances Beatrice Lowe.[3] She has a brother and three sisters. Her maternal grandparents, who were American, were palaeographer Elias Avery Lowe and translator Helen Tracy Lowe-Porter. Elias was an Eastern European Jewish immigrant to the U.S, while Helen was from Pennsylvania.
She read English at Oxford University, and was the first married female undergraduate at Lady Margaret Hall. She interrupted her studies to go to the US with her husband Stanley Johnson whom she met at Oxford and married in Marylebone, London in 1963. She later returned to LMH with a baby and pregnant with her second child to sit Finals in 1965. She was awarded a second class honours degree.
Paintings
Johnson Wahl is recorded as having "made her name as a professional portrait painter" for the likes of Crispin Tickell, Joanna Lumley, Jilly Cooper, and Simon Jenkins, but is "also known for her vibrant and edgy urban landscapes",[3] which have been described as echoing the Vorticist style.[4]
She continues to paint. Her paintings sell at prices from £10,000 to £50,000 for a large one.[2] Two of Wahl's paintings are in the collection of the Bethlem Museum of the Mind; another two are in the collections of Oxford University colleges.[5]
Personal life
Johnson Wahl is the mother of politicians Boris Johnson (London Mayor) and Jo Johnson MP, journalist Rachel Johnson and son Leo Johnson.[3] She and Stanley later divorced. She married American professor Nicholas Wahl in 1988, but she was widowed in 1996.[3]
She has suffered from Parkinson's disease which was first diagnosed in 1989.[3]
External links
- Charlotte Johnson Wahl - Home of Johnson Wahl's 2015 exhibition
- Mall Galleries: Charlotte Johnson Wahl - Mall Galleries on Johnson Wahl
References
- ↑ Charlotte Johnson-Wahl; People. The Times (London, England). (May 15, 2008) News: p15. Word Count: 43.
- 1 2 Julia Llewellyn Smith (17 May 2008) "Boris Johnson, by his mother Charlotte Johnson Wahl", The Telegraph, 18 February 2008. Retrieved 2014-01-04.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "People think I'm drunk ... but my Parkinson's symptoms are better if I have a drink", Daily Mail, 18 February 2008. Retrieved 2014-01-04.
- ↑ Jonathan Jones (17 May 2008) "What would Boris's artist mum say about his train booze ban?", OnArt Blog (theguardian.com), 15 May 2008. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
- ↑ Charlotte Johnson Wahl paintings, BBC Your Paintings. Retrieved 2014-08-04.