WALTER SICKERT: Sketches of Life

'If you are a good draughtsman you are ipso facto a good painter' Walter Sickert famously once said. The drawings included in this glamorous Tate publication reveal the working practice of Walter Sickert (1860-1942), an artist considered by many the 'father' of modern British art. A prolific draughtsman throughout his career he used his drawings as preparatory works for his paintings. Drawn from nature, they capture the intricacies of architectures, the infectious thrill of performance, and even the nuances of a subject's character. Sickert frequently visited locations time and again, investing long periods of time in locations to detail certain elements or even redraw entire views. In this way he developed ideas and concepts before an image was possibly transferred to canvas. As a mentor and teacher to a younger generation of artists, he also attempted to teach the use of preparatory drawings. Stored in Tate's collection and archive, this selection records his creative process and expresses his engagement in locations both in Britain and abroad. Here are moments capturing interactions between the real artists couple Nina Hamnett and her then husband, the drawing of a ballerina pirouetting, or workmen on the roof of a church in Dieppe or drawings of groups of people and pigs at market. Slim 48 pages, beautifully decorated, illus.