Signed with monogram and dated l.r.: JES/1918

Pencil, 30 by 18.5 cm (11 ¾ by 7 ¼ ins) (frame size 51 by 37.5 cm)

Exhibited: The Fine Art Society, 2005, Sixty Works by Joseph Southall (1861-1944) from the Fortunoff Collection, Ext.Cat.

Although previously identified as a study for a portrait of Southall’s patron Janet Hutchinson, the present work bears a very close similarity to the figure of Hope in the Wartime work Belgium Supported by Hope (Tate Gallery, acc.T03699). Southall dedicated much of World War One to the pacificist causes that his Quaker background demanded of him.  This left little time for painting. Belgium Supported by Hope is one of the main exceptions and is an allegory for the re-building of the country following its ravages under its German invasion during the previous four years.