Haydn Reynolds Mackey (1881-1979)

The present work is a double portrait of the two artists, Eric Forbes-Robertson (1865-1935), standing in evening dress, and Haydn Mackey, rather scruffily dressed and seated at his side. The title Les Cabotins, or the Ham Actors, refers to the elegant Forbes-Robertson who was a member of a well-known acting family.

The poster hanging above the figures, advertising the 1895 production of Don Quixote at the Lyceum, was designed by William Nicholson and his brother-in-law, James Pryde, who collaborated at the time as the Beggarstaff Brothers. Mackey mirrors the relationship between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, with that of himself and the dandy Forbes-Robertson.