Portrait of Sir David Low, half-length

Rothenstein admired David Low, the caricaturist, a great deal and wrote in support of his satirical work, which had been criticised by some contemporaries for its aggressive nature. In his Contemporaries (op. cit., p. 56), Rothenstein writes that Low's work is 'based on combative hostility, and without that savour in such things, such things are worthless. In proportion to that savour, and the strength of it, such things are worth the doing.' Low had in fact drawn a portrait of Rothenstein some years earlier, which had appeared in the New Statesman, and Rothenstein's admiration for this piece may have prompted him to return the favour.