Study for ‘Sending-in Day’ 1975

Curator: Immediately striking is the geometry of this pencil study. The sharp angles and regimented forms lend a certain stoicism. Editor: This is a study by William Roberts, dating from 1975, for a work titled 'Sending-in Day'. It's part of the Tate collection, measuring about 12 by 17 centimeters. Roberts, born in 1895, was deeply invested in portraying working-class life. Curator: Seeing the figures so uniformly depicted, bearing artworks themselves, I’m reminded of how cultural production often depends on unseen labour, on the collective effort of those who install and transport art. Editor: Absolutely, and the visual structure underscores that point. There is a cubist influence, but it's softened by Roberts's social realist perspective. The grid, visible beneath the sketch, is essential, providing a framework for an entire system. Curator: Yes, a system where each figure, each artwork, plays a role within a larger narrative of display and access. It prompts questions about who gets to participate in art and who is excluded. Editor: Ultimately, the drawing offers insights into the relationship between art, labor, and social structures. Curator: A fitting reminder of the many hands that shape our experience of art.