This portrait of Tomlin by the surrealist John Banting was commissioned by the critic and author Eddy SackvilleWest. Commissioner, artist and subject were of the same age and shared similar interests and the individual relationships between all three men were almost certainly amorous. Banting, an early British surrealist, had studied in Paris while working as a life model. In 1925 he took a studio near artists Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell on Fitzroy Street, which is where this work was painted. Sackville-West cherished it, and it remained in his collection until his death.
This portrait of Tomlin by the surrealist John Banting was commissioned by the critic and author Eddy SackvilleWest. Commissioner, artist and subject were of the same age and shared similar interests and the individual relationships between all three men were almost certainly amorous. Banting, an early British surrealist, had studied in Paris while working as a life model. In 1925 he took a studio near artists Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell on Fitzroy Street, which is where this work was painted. Sackville-West cherished it, and it remained in his collection until his death.
