International studio (23.1904)

The Langham Sketching Club



' CAPTURED

out with a dry remark worth recalling. Once,
when the men were making a study of an
old woman with a donkey, he remarked that
she need not bother over the bad behaviour
of the obstreperous brute, as the artists were
quite as thick-skinned as the donkey. Apropos
of Keene, the charcoal drawing A Hot Day,
among our illustrations, which has hung for years
in the library of the Langham, was always attri-
buted to him until a short time ago, when one of
the Club members took it out of the frame to
look for the signature, when, lo and behold,
the name on the back
was seen to be that of
G. Thomas. The drawing
is extremely clever, particu-
larly in the figure of the
little girl, whose entire body
is all a-quiver with shocked
surprise.
Of the present - day
workers at the Langham,
much can be said of the
splendid way in which they
are keeping up the reputa-
tion of the Society. There
are many names on the
present list that would do
credit to any period of
its history. Every man
of them takes just pride
in the old days, and is
anxious to do all he can “the end of the play’

to bequeath that pride to
future workers. The
Sketching Club represents
some of the best of the
younger talent in English
art, and some of the names
on the members’ list of the
Artists’ Society are famous.
The two men who hold
the distinction of having
been longest in the Society
are G. G. Kilburne, R.I.,
and G. S. Walters, R.B.A.
Mr. Walters is a member
of the Sketching Club, and
Mr. Kilburne is treasurer
of the Artists’ Society and
a diligent worker on the
sketching evenings as well.
Both these men have been
attached to the Langham
for over forty years, and are still turning out some
of the most interesting of sketches. Mr. W. A.
Breakspeare has for years enjoyed the reputa-
tion of having a distinguished sense of colour
in figure-work and clever execution. His nudes
are refined, and his drawing is wonderful in its
accuracy and apparent simplicity. He is another
earnest member of the Society, and holds the
office of Keeper of the Wardrobe. The name of
Douglas Almond, R.I., is so well known, as an
illustrator and an artist in black-and-white, that
we can say little of his work that is not already

BY W. A. BREAKSPEARE

BY J. SANDERSON WELLS
297