Early in his career Roberts experimented with Cubism and Vorticism, and his mature works were remarkably consistent in their depictions of urban, domestic and social scenes with groups of blocky figures. This drawing is one of many studies of artistic life that he executed during the 1970s. Although Roberts gained a reputation as a recluse, these scenes never depict the cliché of the tormented lone artist: they are always, as here, images of fraternal activity and camaraderie. 

No. 93