The Stranger

Though the title of this work hints at a possible narrative, it is hard to grasp. A small child points to a figure sprawled on a bench, while several others look on. The lack of a clear story gives the image an unsettling quality that perhaps reflects the figures’ own questions about this stranger. Lawson based the composition on an illustration he had previously produced for a magazine article on a seaside town. Though now worked in opaque watercolor, the image retains much of the wood engraving’s strong patterning. The medium is thickly applied, giving depth to the shadows; the lurid yellow of the sky adds to the scene’s uneasy mood (2022).