Eric Kennington, R.A. (London 1888-1960 Reading)

During the 1920s, Kennington executed a series of drawings in charcoal and pastel of nude adult females, of which this is one of the most vibrant examples. Dr Jonathan Black explains how he would draw 'the same subject matter repetitively, and almost obsessively, for a period of time, and then cease to draw it any more. In this case, he appears not to have drawn any further nude studies of women after 1930. In 1927, T.E. Lawrence would express surprise that Kennington was so interested in drawing the female nude: 'Do you really like naked women? They express so little'' (J. Black, The Graphic Art of Eric Kennington, London, 2001, p. 41).