AN ENGLISH CUBIST

WILLIAM ROBERTS:

Illustrations for T. E. Lawrence,

Seven Pillars of Wisdom

Illustration © The Estate of John David Roberts and reproduced with the permission of the William Roberts Society.
Images scanned from the Sedgwick copy of the 1926 Seven Pillars of Wisdom are used by courtesy of Mrs J. Sedgwick and are not to be further reproduced except by permission.

In his pamphlet Early Years, written in September 1977 and published posthumously in 1982, William Roberts summarised his relations with T. E. Lawrence as follows: ‘In 1920 Colin Gill, who had been a fellow-student at the Slade, sent me a note saying “Colonel Lawrence is seeking artists to make portrait drawings for a book he is producing; get in touch with him.” I wrote to Lawrence and as a result I contributed several portrait drawings to “Seven Pillars of Wisdom”, besides a painting of Lawrence in his Royal Air Force uniform. He sat for this portrait in a room I was using at Coleherne Terrace, Earl’s Court … He lent me during several Summers his small woodman’s cottage at Clouds Hill in Dorset.’

Lawrence was delighted by the Seven Pillars portraits – for example describing that of Sir Henry McMahon as ‘absolutely splendid: the strength of it, and the life: it feels as though at any moment there might be a crash in the paper and the thing start out’, and that of Captain Robin Buxton as ‘astonishing … A wonderful drawing – and Roberts went on to produce other illustrations for the book, including 29 of its tailpiece drawings.

Ambush, 1925–6. Pen and ink

Appeasing a Tumult, 1925–6. Pen and ink

As-hab, 1925–6. Pen and ink

Captain Robin Buxton, 1922. Pencil

A Camel Ambulance, 1925–6. Pen and ink

Camel March, 1922. Ink and watercolour

Dhaif Allah – study, 1925–6. Pencil

Dhaif Allah, 1925–6. Pen and ink

Dignity, 1925–6. Ink

The Dogs of Harith – study, 1925–6. Red chalk and pencil

The Dogs of Harith, 1925–6. Red ink and pencil

Flashing Sword, 1925–6. Ink

The Goal, 1925–6. Pen and ink

Ibrahim Pasha, 1925–6. Pen and ink

The Khamsin, 1925–6. Pen and ink

The Little Less, 1925–6. Pen and ink

George Ambrose Lloyd (1st Baron Lloyd), 1925. Oil on canvas

Luxury, 1925–6. Pen and ink

Colonel Sir Henry McMahon, 1922. Pencil

Male and Female, 1925–6. Pen and ink

Mucking in, 1925–6. Pen and ink

Colonel S. F. Newcombe DSO, 1922. Pencil

Night Alarm, 1925–6. Pen and brush

Object Lesson, 1925–6. Pen and ink

Off Duty, 1925–6. Pen and ink

The Oxford Manner, 1925–6. Pen and ink

A Reluctant Shepherd, 1925–6. Pen and ink

Revolt, 1925–6. Pen and ink

Scouting, 1925–6. Pen and ink

Sleeping. Waking, 1925–6. Pen and ink

Songs of Selim el Jezairi, 1925–6. Pen and ink

Spine Drill, 1925–6. Pen and ink

Staff Conference, 1925–6. Pen and ink

Suppliants, 1925–6. Pen and ink

Torture, 1925–6. Pen and ink

The Valley of the Sirhan, 1925–6. Pen and ink

Victory, 1925–6. Pen and ink

General Sir Reginald Wingate, 1922. Chalk

Lord Winterton, 1923. Pencil