William Roberts, R.A.

Acquired circa 1930 by Colonel F.E.B. Manning and thence by descent to the present owner

London, The Cooling Galleries, London Artists' Association, Recent Paintings: Bernard Adeney, George Barne, Keith Baynes, Vanessa Bell, Raymond Coxon, Douglas Davidson, Roger Fry, Duncan Grant, Ivon Hitchens, Rory O'Mullen, R.V. Pitchforth, Frederick J. Porter, William Roberts, Edward Wolfe, 8th – 30th November 1929, cat. no.47.

'London Artists' Association', The Times, 15th November 1929.

The following condition report has been prepared by Hamish Dewar Ltd.: Structural Condition The canvas has been lined and this is ensuring a sound structural support. There is a pattern of fine lines of drying craquelure in the upper right corner which is probably why the canvas was lined. No further structural intervention is required. Paint surface The paint surface has an even varnish layer. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows a few small scattered retouchings. There is a thin vertical line running down from the upper right horizontal turnover edge, another similar line in the lower left corner and retouchings along the lower horizontal framing edge. There is also a small retouching on the back of the man seated on the right of the composition. All these retouchings fluoresce very faintly and there may be other retouchings which are not readily identifiable under ultra-violet light. There are some other very tiny spots of more recent retouching. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in good and stable condition and no further work is required. Please telephone the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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'[William Roberts is] a strong lover of character at its raciest - especially where it shades into the grotesque - he presents to us his memories of life in a sharp manner, odd, vivid, and quite his own, whose foundation is a really sterling draughtsmanship...Roberts has lots of native wit.' (Muirhead Bone, Paintings and Drawings by William Roberts, Chenil Gallery, London, 1923).

William Roberts felt it rang false to purely invent a subject and he never committed to a composition without it having some source, either from his observations of everyday life, from literature or scripture, or from his studies of the arts. It was in part for this reason that he always had an uncomfortable relationship with so called ‘pure abstraction’, writing in 1976 that ‘the artist who tells no more of his life and times, than a collection of abstract designs might well never have been born’ (William Roberts, Paintings and Drawings by William Roberts R.A., William Clowes & Sons Limited, London, 1976, unpaginated).

He would often spend long hours strolling around his neighbourhood in London, or later meandering by the canals and streams in Marston  (the suburb of Oxford his family occupied during the Second World War), jotting down sketched observations on little slips of paper as he went. A. J. P. Taylor, a neighbour of the family, noted that Roberts spent most of his days walking and observing in London:

'If he needed a note of something that caught his fancy or interest he would find a scrap of paper in his pocket and make a pattern of a few lines...The scrap of paper was added to the pile he had collected for many years ...After each finished work he would go through this pile and select one, and not always the latest, to start whatever suited him at the moment. He didn't use a sketchbook. It was quite an adventure going through his piles and try to guess which would come next' (quoted in Andrew Heard, William Roberts, 2004, p.56).

The Tea Garden is perhaps derived from such an expedition, and certainly the subject, which focuses on the tumultuous energy of urban life and human interaction, would have been appealing to the Artist. Roberts had always been in thrall with the vivacity of modernity, and was particularly drawn to uproarious environments, from the boisterous atmosphere of packed noisy cafes, to the movement and hustle and bustle of crowds. Beginning in 1913 he had become embroiled in the Bohemian culture developing around Fitzrovia and Soho, where he and his former Slade classmates would spend the evenings in crowded night clubs soaking up the new wave American influences of jazz and ragtime, attracted to the carefree feel, vibrant energy and valuable potential contacts. He and his wife Sarah, whom he married in 1922, were particularly fond of the Harlequin Tea Rooms off Regent Street, and could frequently be found there throughout the 1920s (fig.1). Following the war the active breaking of social restrictions meant there was always a spectacle on view, and Robert's taste for these raucous scenes only intensified.

Roberts had a keen eye for detail and observation, and using the distinctive style he developed between the wars was able to articulate the intricacies of social interaction through gesture and facial expression.  In The Tea Garden this lovely documentary quality is in full play. The figure’s gestures are immediately readable as their long and delicate fingers clasp teacups, sandwiches and cigarettes, their gesticulations animating their ongoing discussions. Roberts carefully builds the sense of movement by ensuring that the composition never allows the viewer's eye to settle for long in one spot, forcing our gaze to zigzag through the group. Moving cyclically we notice, for example, the woman who raises her pinkie and closes her eyes as she imbibes her hot beverage, the couple next to her entwined in an embrace, as well as the waitress in the bib who is serving the energetic crowd.

Roberts found particular humour in the clash of classes one increasingly found in these public settings, and here we see a strolling elegantly dressed couple - a lady with gloved hands who grasps her smart clutch and a finely suited gentleman with a cane and pipe- who have clearly taken notice of the rather brash crowd before them. The lady looks rather concerned as her partner smirks, and they provide the perfect buttoned up counter point to the exuberant scene in the foreground.

Typical of Roberts’ method, several intricate preparatory drawings for The Tea Garden exist, which are now in the collections of the Tate, London, the Castle Museum and Art Gallery, Nottingham and the Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield.