Walter Richard Sickert

The setting of this picture may be the the pub called 'The Tottenham' at the eastern end of Oxford Street, where Sickert often had lunch. However, the artist Randolph Schwabe recalled in 1943 that there had once been a pub called 'The Tottenham Distillery' near the Slade art school in Bloomsbury, 'an old fashioned tavern where the food was good'.
Using economical painting and a small number of colours, Sickert achieves a cohesive and very beautiful design. The surface of the canvas and under-drawing are freely allowed to show through to give textural interest.

Gallery label, September 2004

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