Two figure studies of gentlemen on verso.
This is a preparatory study for the print Love sends a Little Gift of Roses (Parkin 1989, n. 58). Judging by the immediacy of the drawings, the artist most likely made them in situ.
The Metropolitan Theatre was a London music hall in Edgware Road, Paddington. It was a leading theatre for music and variety which became increasingly prominent by the 19th century. However, by the mid-20th century it struggled to survive, and was demolished in 1964 to make way for a road-widening scheme.
Love Sends a Little Gift of Roses ballad was a popular song in the 1920s. It was written by John Openshaw (music) and Leslie Cooke (lyrics) in 1919. It seems likely, therefore, that the artist captured moments of the song's performance on the stage of the theatre.
-