Seated girl, Wellington House

The title refers to the studio Sickert acquired in 1908 at 247 Hampstead Road, Camden Town, which he christened the ‘Wellington House Academy’ in honour of the drawing classes he held there. Sickert urged his students to pose their models in real surroundings and he often favoured cheaply furnished bedroom interiors. Here, he depicts the contemplative young model on an iron bedstead with a small dressing table behind. The outline of a standing male figure can also be seen in the background.