Robbie Wraith

3. A Closer Lookwatercolour30 x 40 cms 113⁄4 x 151⁄2 ins

Robbie Wraith’s immaculate technique and natural curiosity extends to every genre of his work, but he is particularly celebrated for his sensitive, yet incisive portraiture. His subjects come from all levels of society; he has even painted HM The Queen, whom he recalls as a particularly interesting conversationalist.

No amount of questions or cajoling would compel him to give further details of this experience; Wraith is unfailingly discreet about all of his sitters. However, establishing a rapport with his subject is vital to his work; just one of several reasons why he does not work from photographs. “So many artists [do]”, he says, sitting in the warm spring light of his Oxfordshire studio. “But when you see a portrait that’s been done from a photo… Well, … in my opinion it’s dead; it’s unconvincing. The whole point of portraiture is to have something living… and if the sitter doesn’t get that, it’s disappointing because it’s like you’re speaking a different language.”

Perhaps Wraith finds this disconnection frustrating because he happens to be a wonderful conversationalist himself. Warm, but highly intellectual, he maintains an engaging curiosity about the world around him. So it’s unsurprising to find that he enjoys a close relationship with several of his models, which is marked by a sincere, mutual respect.

This collaborative relationship lies at the very heart of his recent work. These oils, watercolours and drawings offer a closer look at his dizzying command of technique, and sincere curiosity about the human condition, both of which are rooted in the great traditions of European painting. These works are images of women as individuals and as various expressions of femininity, and many include microscopes, antique cameras, art postcards, masks and veils. Wraith’s inclusion of these arguable signifiers of objectivity, subjectivity or disguise into nudes and portrait studies alternately heightens their sensuality, plays with notions of feminine personae, and in some cases might even suggest a shared joke. But, in each work he captures not just the candour, confidence or evident collaboration he enjoyed with each model, he also hints at her unconscious projection of herself, the face we hold in our mind’s eye that we believe others see. In fact, he volunteers that “Jung is a great hero of mine and his idea of what he calls the anima is fascinating to me… this archetype of the female within the male.”

In 2006, Yvonne Eller, a professional model who has worked with Wraith off and on for years, wrote in article for The Guardian: ‘I tease [him] by occasionally asking, “Does it look like me yet?” a few minutes into a new sketch or painting. It inevitably does – to an astonishing degree and in a matter of seconds – but Wraith wouldn’t say so. He once told me that he wasn’t really painting me at all. He was painting his reaction to me – a mixture of himself and myself.’

This psychological dialogue between the male and female continually emerges in Wraith’s work. Take

H.M. The Queen

Robbie Wraith – A Closer Look

6. Tinapencil30 x 23 cms 113⁄4 x 9 ins

7. Nicolecharcoal43 x 51 cms 167⁄8 x 19 7⁄8 ins

8. Study in Blackoil on panel25 x 36 cms 97⁄8 x 141⁄8 ins

26. Burlesque Study VIcharcoal62 x 46 cms 243⁄8 x 181⁄8 ins

27. Burlesque Portraitoil on canvas69 x 56 cms 271⁄8 x 22 ins