'1916'

The drawing is a comment on the Great War, a subject that dominated Byam Shaw's imagination and inspired many of his later works. 'His watercolour entitled "1916"', wrote his friend Rex Vicat Cole, 'vividly recalls to us who knew the War, that ray of light beginning to make itself felt. The picture needs no explanation, though this note may be necessary for a new generation to whom 1916 will mean but little'.

When Cole's book was published in 1932, the picture belonged to the wife of the artist and author Dion Clayton Calthrop (1878-1937), who was another close friend of Byam Shaw. They had probably met as students at the St John's Wood Art School in the late 1880s. Their work has much in common and they shared a passionate interest in the stage.