This month we take a look at A Weak Defence, a small etching on laid paper by the artist Walter Richard Sickert (1860 – 1942). It was published in 1915.

About the artist

Walter Sickert was born in Germany in 1860. Both his father and his grandfather were artists. In 1868 he moved with his family moved to England. Initially, Sickert trained to be an actor but changed direction in 1881, when he attended the Slade School of Art. He didn’t complete his artistic training there however, as he left to work for and study under the renowned artist James McNeill Whistler.

In 1911, Sickert, with other artists formed the Camden Town Group – an alliance of artists whose focus was the authentic portrayal of urban life in London. But Sickert went further than most artists, displaying, through his work, his fascination with more unpleasant aspects of life, even creating a painting of the bedroom that was supposed to have been lived in by Jack the Ripper. Many of his pictures were unsettling, and the etching we are exploring in this article exemplifies this.

Nevertheless, Sickert was hugely influential on the work of later British artists, such as Francis Bacon and Lucien Freud.

Sickert was also known for being an art teacher, initially at the Westminster School of art and then through private schools, which he founded himself. He also established himself as an art critic, writing for publications such as Art News and the New York Herald (London edition).

By 1920 he had relocated to Dieppe in France, where he continued to paint, choosing scenes in casinos and cafes as his subjects. In 1922 he returned to England. In the later part of his life he focused on painting portraits (often painted from photographs) and in his last decade of life he relied on his wife and other assistants to execute his paintings for him.
Sickert was recognised for his accomplishments during his lifetime, becoming President of the Royal Society of British Artists from 1928-1930, and awarded the status of Royal Academician in 1934.

Acknowledgements

Tate
Wikipedia