Leonard Gow 1927

Muirhead Bone made this portrait of Leonard Gow using a drypoint technique, which gives it a lovely, scratchy, immediate feel. It’s almost like you’re watching the artist draw directly onto the plate. What strikes me is how the artist is thinking through the marks they are making. Look at the way Bone suggests form with these incredibly delicate lines. They build up shadows and volume in Leonard Gow’s face and clothing. It is a study in how much you can do with just a little, and how much information can be conveyed with just tone. Take for instance, the way the light falls on the sitter’s face, casting the sitter’s left side in shadow, while his right side is illuminated. The more you look at Bone’s work, the more you appreciate how he captures character with such economy. It reminds me of Whistler’s etchings, where suggestion and atmosphere are everything, and the art lies in what is left unsaid.