Head of an Elderly Man, Full Face 

Curator: Here we have Samuel Laurence's "Head of an Elderly Man, Full Face," housed right here at the Tate. It's a simple yet compelling sketch. Editor: The first thing that strikes me is how stark it is. The gray paper, the minimal lines…it feels almost ghostly. Curator: Laurence was known for his portraits, often favoring this sort of direct, unadorned approach. This one is all about the labor of observation. Editor: Absolutely. You can practically feel the weight of the graphite on the page. The lines around the eyes suggest so much experience. Curator: The sketch captures a certain vulnerability, doesn't it? It's in the soft rendering around the mouth and the intensity of his gaze. Editor: And the paper itself, that muted gray, feels like a conscious choice to foreground the material reality of portraiture, rather than the illusion of presence. Curator: It's a moving study in the passage of time. Editor: Indeed. A quiet reminder of the physical act behind representation.