Preparatory study of The Marquess Camden and his son by Anthony Wysard 1934

Wysard, Anthony (1907-1984). The Marquess Camden and Lord Brecknock. Original preparatory study for a watercolour in the National Portrait Gallery. 1934.

Original drawing in pencil, pen and ink and watercolour on thin paper, 300 x 250 mm. Unsigned. With a broadly drawn pencil study of the same composition, in reverse, on the verso. Paper toned, with scattered light spotting and soiling, creasing, and minor wear to the edges. The faces and upper bodies are substantially developed, while the surrounding scene retains extensive exploratory pencil work.

A preparatory study for Wysard's double caricature of John Charles Pratt, 4th Marquess Camden (1872-1943), and his son John Charles Henry Pratt (1899-1983), Lord Brecknock, later 5th Marquess Camden. The finished watercolour, dated 1934, is held by the National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG D287). The father appears on the left in a peaked yachting cap, his larger son leaning back on his motor on the right, with sailing boats and bunting behind them.

The sheet preserves two stages in the development of the composition. The broad pencil drawing on the verso establishes the contrasting figures and their poses, apparently providing a guide visible through the thin paper for the more detailed study on the recto. The latter closely anticipates the finished watercolour, including the positioning of the sitters and the motor car at the lower right. A good example of Wysard's working process, directly related to an identified work in a national collection.