AN ENGLISH CUBIST

WILLIAM ROBERTS:

The Schoolboy

Illustration © The Estate of John David Roberts. Reproduced with the permission of the William Roberts Society. Catalogue information based on the catalogue raisonné by David Cleall. For this and full details of the exhibitions cited, see the links below. Any auction prices quoted may not include all fees and taxes, such as VAT and Artist's Resale Right charges.

The Schoolboy, 1930
Oil on canvas, 43.5 cm x 33 cm

The catalogue of the 2008 Sotheby's sale stated that this is a portrait of the artist's son, John, and reproduced a photograph from 1984 of John Roberts posing with the picture as if in confirmation; but the sitter looks quite unlike John Roberts as depicted in John c.1925, Portrait of a Boy c.1929, and John c.1932. Also, the badge on his cap is not that of St Marylebone Grammar School, which John attended from the autumn of 1930:

Schoolboy

PROVENANCE: Sir David Scott (bought at the LAA in 1931 for 18 guineas) > Sotheby's 19 Nov. 2008 (where described as depicting John Roberts; £14,375) > ? > Piano Nobile > ?
EXHIBITION HISTORY: London Artists' Association (3) 1931 (18 gns), Kettering Art Gallery 1959