When British art of the late 19th and early 20th centuries is introduced in Japan, it is usually in the context of the Pre-Raphaelites, Aestheticism, and Symbolism. But the search by young artists for new creative settings took various other forms, which were often inspired by developments in modern French painting. For instance: the New English Art Club (NEAC) was formed in 1886 to provide an alternative to the long-established Royal Academy of Arts; the Camden Town Group emerged in 1911 as a backlash against the NEAC's own conservatizing tendencies; while the Newlyn School, active across this entire period, grew from an artists’ colony in a Cornish fishing village. As well as responding to Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, the artists involved were also reacting against Britain’s rapid urbanization and industrialization.

The Welsh painter Augustus John (1878-1961) occupied a unique place in this milieu. His outstanding drawing skills, bold color expression, and bohemian themes made him an innovative force in the years leading up to the First World War. Other young artists eagerly awaited his next move: he could be the renowned master portraitist using delicate lines to capture his models' features with stunning accuracy or the whimsical creator of simple, fanciful, and sometimes humorous studies. Although a largely forgotten name by the second half of the 20th century, he is ranked among Britain's first important Post-Impressionists.

Many works by John and his contemporaries entered the collection of Matsukata Kōjirō (1866-1950) after he began to purchase art during his stay in London from 1916 to 1918. This exhibition, featuring early drawings by John from the Matsukata Collection along with drawings, prints, and oil paintings by artists around him, aims to shed light on the professional movements and personal networks in British art circles of the period.