Yachting Girl, from the series "Hamilton King Girls" (T7, Type 6), issued by Turkish Trophies Cigarettes 1913

Hamilton King made this 'Yachting Girl' print, part of the "Hamilton King Girls" series, for Turkish Trophies Cigarettes. The way the light seems to play on the woman's dress, it’s like King is feeling out the possibilities of colour and form in real time. I find myself drawn to the way King uses hatching, those tiny parallel lines, to build up tone and volume. Look closely, and you can see the individual marks, each one a little decision, a little adjustment. The whole image is built from these small gestures, like a conversation between the artist and the paper. Notice the red scarf and the way it contrasts with the blue background. It is a pretty simple colour palette, but it really works. It reminds me a bit of Toulouse-Lautrec, that same interest in capturing modern life with a kind of loose, energetic line. But King has his own thing going on, a sweetness and a kind of innocence that's all his own. Ultimately, art is about asking questions, not giving answers.