Lot 96: HENRY TONKS (1862-1937) REVERIE

HENRY TONKS (1862-1937)
REVERIE
signed and dated I.I.: H.T./Jan 1885; blue/grey wash heightened with white over ink
21cm by 19.5cm; 8 1/4in by 7 1/4in (unframed)
Provenance
bequeathed to the artist's nephew, Myles Tonks and thence by descent
Henry Tonks is widely regarded as one of the most influential art teachers of the early twentieth century. Originally trained as a surgeon, Tonks joined the staff of the Slade School of Art at the end of the nineteenth century, becoming Slade Professor of Fine Art in 1918. He was a major influence on a brilliant generation of young artists who studied there before the War including Stanley Spencer, Dora Carrington, David Bomberg, C.R.W.Nevinson and Mark Gertler. Tonks himself worked as a War artist in World War I where he executed pastel drawings recording facial injuries. This group of drawings by Tonks dates from the earlier part of his life and shows the great charm of his work as a caricaturist and illustrator. The drawings have been in the family of Henry's nephew Myles Tonks since they were executed and have only very recently been re-discovered. Myles Tonks was also trained as a doctor and studied under his uncle to whom he was very close. He was a talented landscape painter who specialised in views of Devon and the Scottish Highlands