Sir Walter Westley Russell(1867-1949): Study of a Girl(c.1895)

A beautiful black chalk drawing which captures the fleeting expression on a girl's face. I believe the drawing was done quickly. Russell studied at the Westminster School of Art and at the age of twenty-seven became assistant Professor at the Slade (Orpen and John were among his pupils). He was held in high esteem for his extraordinary skills as a draughtsman. For a time he moved in the orbit of Sickert's Fitzroy Street Group but their work proved too radical for his tastes; he preferred the conservative surroundings of the N.E.A.C. and the Royal Academy (he became a A.R.A. in 1920 and a R.A. in 1926). An accomplished portrait painter he also excelled in landscapes and watercolours.

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