Study for "The Old Bedford"

The Old Bedford Theatre in London appears often in Sickert’s work in the 1880s and 1890s. Its towering auditorium and crowded galleries provided him with ample material with which to experiment. Sickert, who had tried acting in his youth, was fascinated by the theater, particularly the music hall. This drawing is one of numerous studies made for a series of paintings, and it includes notes of where to add colors to the final painting. With loose strokes of charcoal creating a sense of flurrying movement, Sickert captures the enthusiasm of the crowd as they respond to the performance (2022).