The young Picasso, visiting the studio of John Duncan Fergusson in 1907, desired to meet one of the leading figures in the artist community of Paris, a paragon of Bohemian life, an ascetic dedicated to art. The clearest, quotidian evidence of this dedication is in Fergusson’s drawings: he would never be out without a sketchbook and the approach to any studio subject would begin with drawing.
Each drawing sheet is an authentic record of his obsession, the urgency of his craft, a time-capsule of the moment of creative excitement stimulated by a chance view or a dedicated, concentrated choice in the studio. This small show of 45 works on paper reveals many previously unseen works across the artist’s long, extraordinary life.
