William Roberts, R.A.

London Artist's Association, where acquired by Saxon Sydney-Turner, 1931
Gifted by the above to Barbara Bagenal, and thence by descent

The sheet is sound and adhered along the top edge. Several pin holes are apparent in all four corner, mostly covered by the present mount, as well as two to the right hand side, one to the left and a further to the top centre. There is cockling throughout the sheet, with slight discolouration apparent. There are very tiny minor scuffs to the corners, not visible in the present mount. This excepting the colours are brilliantly bold throughout. Housed behind glass in a thin wooden frame and set within a pale card mount. Please telephone the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions about the present work.
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Following the successful sale of William Roberts’ The Chess Players in these rooms for a new record for the artist (10^th May 2012, lot 17, sold for £1,161,250), we are delighted to be able to present the watercolour study for that work, which has almost certainly never been exhibited in public, and remains unpublished since its purchase at the London Artists' Association in 1931.

The drama inherent in the final painting hangs on the moment of tension as the two players assess their relative positions, one from a position of strength and one from weakness. By spreading that tension throughout the composition, Roberts weaves the whole together as an incredibly involving depiction of human interplay. Whilst the colouring is less highly varied than the oil, Checkmate displays exactly the same tension, something that considering the huge difference in scale is a remarkable demonstration of Roberts’ abilities. All the elements of the larger work are present, and we find ourselves investigating the relationships between the protagonists. As our gaze moves from figure to figure, and we observe their gestures, facial expressions and their directions of vision, the connections emerge. The rivalry between the players, the way in which the observers place themselves and their glances, the indifference of the sleeping woman, all these build a composition that involves the viewer to a very high degree. Above all, the placement of the board suggests that the losing player is asking for our input, seeking our help in what is rapidly developing into the checkmate position of the title.

For this composition, Roberts seems to have drawn his cast of figures from those he knew, with the central player almost certainly based on Dr Paul de Zoysa, a Sri Lankan student of law in London and with whom Roberts frequently played. John Roberts remembers his father as ‘a dogged player’ and that games would often carry on into the small hours. The late night feel definitely pervades this image, the lighting and confined space of the room all adding to the drama.

We are grateful to Bob Davenport of the William Roberts Society for his kind assistance in cataloguing the present work.