Head of Old Underwood 1903

Here’s Augustus John’s etching, made in 1903, of that old so-and-so, Underwood. I am trying to imagine what it might have been like to be Augustus John, with his needle, digging into the plate, the old man’s face looming, those eyes peering out into the world. It's like he’s thinking: "Just a little deeper here, a little more hatching there…” There's this network of lines building up into a whole person. I mean, it kind of feels like an honest appraisal, right? He isn't trying to hide anything – all those wrinkles, the sag of the skin, the way the light catches the nose. It reminds me of other artists working at the turn of the century, like Käthe Kollwitz, who were also grappling with how to portray the human condition in all its messy glory. Artists are always in conversation with each other, you know, bouncing ideas around through time. And that’s the beauty of painting and printmaking – this ongoing dialogue that keeps evolving with each mark we make.