Description

William Roberts (1895-1980)
Tree Cutters

Pencil on paper
17 x 19 cm

William Roberts (1895-1980) is remembered as a distinctive and independent figure in 20th-century British art, bridging radical modernism and more traditional representational painting. After training at the Slade School of Art, Roberts became both one of the founding members of the Vorticist group–a short-lived but influential British avant-garde movement that embraced modernity, abstraction, and the dynamism of the machine age–and enlisted as a gunner on the Western Front in 1916, becoming an official war artist in 1918. After the war, he went on to enjoy great artistic success. He staged his first one-man show at the Chenil Gallery in London in 1923, worked prolifically throughout his career, leading to a major retrospective at the Tate Gallery in 1965 and his election as a full member of the Royal Academy in 1966. His works are now housed in a number of influential galleries, including the Tate and the National Portrait Gallery.

This dynamic pencil drawing exemplifies Roberts’ meticulous approach to composition and his enduring interest in the human figure at work. Likely a preparatory study for a larger painting, the piece captures a group of labourers engaged in the process of tree-cutting or timber work—an industrial subject Roberts returned to frequently, especially during and after his wartime commissions.

Roberts arranges the figures in a rhythmic, almost architectural structure, using angular lines and intersecting planes to convey the physical energy of manual labor. The forms are simplified and stylised, consistent with his modernist roots in Vorticism, yet grounded in observation. Each figure is engaged in a specific action—sawing, lifting, chopping—contributing to the overall momentum of the scene. The composition is likely built on a grid, subtly visible or implied, which allowed Roberts to maintain balance and proportion across the image.

Though rendered in graphite, the drawing is rich in tonal variation and movement. It reflects Roberts’ ability to distill complex human activity into a formal, almost sculptural arrangement—at once abstract and narrative, analytical and alive.

Condition: Generally very good, pin holes to corners, squared for transfer.

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