A Letter from Iris Court with Sketches of Henry Irving

Mortimer Menpes

Associated Names
Mortimer Menpes

Artist, British, 1855 - 1938

The image is a pencil sketch on light-colored paper, showing two views of a man's head and shoulders. The main focus is on a profile view of the man's head and upper torso, facing to the right. The sketch captures his features with a mix of detailed and shaded lines, emphasizing the hair and facial features such as the nose and brow. His hair appears to be long and wavy, extending to the neck area. The man seems to wear a collared garment, visible through sketch lines around the neck. Beneath the profile, there is a smaller frontal sketch of the man, capturing a mild expression with less detail, focusing on the structure of eyes, nose, and lips. The background of the page features header text "IRIS COURT PANGBOURNE BERKSHIRE" on the top left and "TELEPHONE: 94 PANGBOURNE" on the top right, with a handwritten note and monogram near the sketches.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    graphite on wove paper [Iris Court letterhead]

  • Credit Line

    Joseph F. McCrindle Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 22.7 x 17.6 cm (8 15/16 x 6 15/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2009.70.165

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Brian Sewell, London, by 1980); Joseph F. McCrindle [1923-2008], New York, 1980; Joseph F. McCrindle Foundation, 2008; gift to NGA, 2009.

Associated Names

Bibliography

2012

  • Grasselli, Margaret M., and Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr., eds. The McCrindle Gift: A Distinguished Collection of Drawings and Watercolors. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art. Washington, 2012: 171 (color).

Inscriptions

by artist, center left in pen and black ink, with brush and red wash: Dear KJ. (enclosed in a rectangle) / Here is the sketch / of Irving I promised / to send you. / Yours [most?] Sincerely/Mortimer Menpes; by artist, center right in graphite: M.M.; by artist, lower right in graphite: M. (erased); by later hand, lower right verso in graphite: MC0258

Watermarks

WHS (encircled) / Emissary Bond

Wikidata ID

Q64617968

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