Portrait of a Man Gazing Right

The artwork portrays a mans head study in profile, meticulously rendered in ink on paper. Dring pays close attention to the contours of the skin and hair. The intricate facial details prompt viewers to contemplate themes of identity and expression, while the minimalistic background underscores the figure’s separation from its surroundings.

William Dring

Dring was born with the forenames Dennis William, but was known colloquially as John. He was the brother of the artist James Dring. He married the painter Grace Elizabeth Rothwell, and their daughter Melissa was also an artist.

Dring studied under Henry Tonks at the Slade School of Fine Art, 1922-25, and emerged as a fine draughtsman, a sympathetic portrait painter (fond of using his family as subjects), and a deft watercolourist.

He won several prizes and scholarships at the Slade. He then taught until 1940 at Southampton School of Art and became an official war artist. The Imperial War Museum owns 64 of his portraits in pastel (mainly of naval personnel who received battle awards) and five of his elaborately constructed oil paintings.

He was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1944 when he showed a strong portrait of his daughter Melissa, and after the war he became a noted exhibitor at the Royal Academy, being elected RA in 1955.