The toast no date

Editor: So, this is "The Toast" by William Roberts. It's undated, but the work is pencil on paper and is currently held at the Tate. It feels a little like everyone is trapped in a very polite machine. What's your take? Curator: Trapped, yes, in a geometry of manners. Roberts, shaped by Vorticism and the war, often shows figures as types, almost architectural. I see echoes of Fernand Léger, that shared fascination with the mechanized human. Do you sense that tension between celebration and…something else? Editor: Absolutely. There is this sense of forced festivity. I was also curious about that grid underlying the whole sketch. Curator: The grid is telling. It's structure, control, a foundation – but also a cage. Roberts is mapping out not just the composition, but the very constraints of social ritual, isn’t he? Almost like he is building a world from scratch. Editor: That is enlightening. Thanks for offering up that perspective. Curator: My pleasure, a new perspective is always welcome.