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| Self-Portrait c1926 pencil on paper 24.3 x 20.9 cm |
William Roberts 1895-1980: In the years before the First World War Roberts was a pioneer, among English artists, in his use of abstract images. In later years he described his approach as that of an "English Cubist". In the First World War he served as a gunner on the Western Front, and in 1918 became an official war artist. Roberts's first one-man show was at the Chenil Gallery in London in 1923, and a number of his paintings from the twenties were purchased by the Contemporary Art Society for provincial galleries in the UK. In the 1930s it could be argued that Roberts was artistically at the top of his game; but, although his work was exhibited regularly in London and, increasingly, internationally, he always struggled financially. This situation became worse during the Second World War – although Roberts did carry out some commissions as a war artist.
Roberts is probably best remembered for the large, complex and colourful compositions that he exhibited annually at the Royal Academy summer exhibition from the 1950s until his death. He had a major retrospective at the Tate Gallery in 1965, and was elected a full member of the Royal Academy in 1966. There has recently been a revival of interest in the work of this artist who always worked outside the mainstream.
Note: All images © reserved (Bona Vacantia)
This is part 4 of a 20-part series on the works of William Roberts:
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| 1921 Discussion in a Café pen, ink and watercolour 40.6 x 50.8 cm |
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| 1921 Novices (aka The Boxing Match) ink and crayon on paper 15 x 10.2 cm |
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| 1921 Novices (aka The Boxing Match) pencil, pen, ink and watercolour 50.9 x 35.6 cm |
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| The Dance Club black chalk 20 x 27.3 cm |
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| The Dance Club oil on canvas 76 x 106.6 cm |
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| 1921 Wheels cover artwork for Wheels No.6, the last of the annual anthologies of poetry edited by Edith Sitwell |
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| 1921-23 The Poor Family (aka Unemployed) pencil 10.2 x 8.3 cm |
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| The Poor Family (aka Unemployed) oil on canvas 50.8 x 41 cm |
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| c1921 Cecilia Kramer oil on canvas 49.8 x 40.6 cm |
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| Fanfare magazine Number Tree cover 22 x 14 cm |
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| 1922 'Feeds Round!' Stable-time in the Wagon-lines, France pencil 15.2 x 17.1 cm |
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| 1922 'Feeds Round!' Stable Time in the Wagon Lines, France oil on canvas 51.2 x 61.2 cm Imperial War Museum, London |
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| 1922 Colonel Sir Henry McMahon pencil |
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| 1922 Colonel S. F. Newcombe DSO pencil 35.5 x 33 cm |
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| 1922 Captain Robin Buxton pencil |
1922 Camel March
This depiction of the army of the Arab leader Feisal en route to Wejh during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire was based on a photograph taken by T. E. Lawrence. When he saw the finished illustration for Seven Pillars of Wisdom he wrote to Roberts, 'I saw the camels yesterday. The colour first delighted me: it's the most beautiful thing to look at: then I saw how excellent was the design: and the landscape is just what one would have wished (but hardly imagined anything so quiet as that lawn of uncrinkled sand): the whole thing is really marvellous: better than anything I thought possible’
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| 1922 Camel March (aka Camel Corps) ink and watercolour 33 x 57.8 cm |
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| 1922 Love Song in a Bar black chalk 25 x 19 cm |
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| 1922 Love Song in a Bar oil on canvas 101.6 x 76.2 cm |
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| 1922 The Tower of Babel charcoal on paper 19.7 x 14.6 cm Tate Gallery, London |
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| 1922 The Farm (Country Scene) oil on canvas 51 x 61.5 cm The Hepworth Wakefield, UK |
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| 1922 Sarah oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm |
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| 1922-23 Elsie oil on canvas 50 x 40 cm |
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| 1922-25 Study for ‘Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple’ charcoal and coloured graphite on paper 13.3 x 15.2 cm Tate Gallery. London |
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| 1922-25 Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple watercolour and pencil 20 x 23.5 cm |
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| 1922-25 Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple oil on canvas 48 x 52.5 cm |
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| c1922 Brass Balls: study for "The Dance Club" pastel 27.3 x 20 cm |
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| c1922 Brass Balls oil on canvas 101 x 76 cm |
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| c1922 The Battalion Runner on the Duckboard Track oil on canvas 60.9 x 50.8 cm |
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| c1922 Miss Jane Tupper-Carey oil on canvas 41 x 31 cm Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea, UK |
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| c1922 The Crucifixion pen, pencil and wash 35.7 x 49 cm |
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| c1922 2 The Crucifixion crayon and wash 18.4 x 27.2 cm |
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| c1922 The Crucifixion oil on canvas 75 x 90 cm Methodist Modern Art Collection |
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| c1922 The Red Turban oil on canvas 103 x 82.8 cm Sheffield Museums, UK |
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| c1922 The Port of London oil on canvas 53.3 x 74.8 cm Tate Gallery, London |
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| 1923 Study for 'Bank Holiday in the Park' charcoal on paper with green wash, squared up for transfer in red ink 25.4 x 20.3 cm Museum & Art Swindon, UK |
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| 1923 Bank Holiday in the Park pencil 38 x 30.5 cm |
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| 1923 Bank Holiday in the Park oil on canvas 152.5 x 120 cm |
1923 T. E. Lawrence as Aircraftsman Shaw
Lawrence joined up as J. H. Ross in June 1922 and rejoined in 1923 as T. E. Shaw. Roberts illustrated Lawrence's 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom', for which the drawings and a portrait were exhibited in 1923. This portrait was painted in a rented room in Coleherne Terrace, Earl's Court.
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| 1923 T. E. Lawrence as Aircraftsman Shaw oil on canvas 91.5 x 61 cm Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK |
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| 1923 Kit (Katie Bissett-Smith née Knewstub, 1907–2008) oil on canvas 51 x 40.5 cm Wolverhampton Art Gallery, UK |
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| 1923 Girl in Mauve Hat (aka Sarah and The Violet Hat) oil on canvas 61 x 51 cm |
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| 1923 General Sir Reginald Wingate sanguine 34.4 x 29.9 cm |
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| 1923 The Interval pencil and black chalk 58.4 x 40.6 cm |
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| 1923 The Dance Club (The Jazz Party) oil on canvas 76.2 x 106.6 cm Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds Museums and Galleries |
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| 1923 The Creole (aka Portrait of a Negress – Hélène Yelin) oil on canvas 60.7 x 50.5 cm |
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| 1923 The Joke black chalk and watercolour 25.4 x 20.3 cm |
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| 1923 The Joke oil on canvas 75 x 62.5 cm |
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| 1923 The Connoisseur black chalk and watercolour 22.4 x 21 cm |
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| 1923 The Connoisseur charcoal 51 x 40 cm |
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