Eduardo PAOLOZZI Drinking Man (Drawing)  (1956)

An original drawing in pen and ink on wove paper of a man drinking or raising a glass. Signed clearly in black ink Eduardo Paolozzi and dated Aug 9th, this date may refer either to the last meeting in 1955 of the group of artists known as the Independent Group of which Paolozzi was a member, or the opening date of the groundbreaking exhibition This is Tomorrow, a collaborative art exhibition now considered to be the forerunner of the British Pop Art movement, that opened at the Whitechapel Art Gallery on 9 August 1956 and ran for a month. We know of another portrait in The Scottish National Galleries by Paolozzi also dated/titled August 9th (see last image opposite).

In fair/good condition with some areas of light discolouration and handling creases throughout - most definitely a 'working' sketch, maybe from a sketchbook. We love the individuality of this rare and humorous Paolozzi drawing, quite possibly drawn from life. Provenance: from a private Edinburgh collection.

This is Tomorrow opened at the Whitechapel Art Gallery on 9 August 1956 and featured 12 exhibits that featured collaborations between a variety of architects, painters, sculptors, and other artists. While each using their own style, they built pieces that represented their version of contemporary art. The result of the twelve groups was the attempt to evoke a variety of external environment through theories that were inspired by communications guru Marshall McLuhan, as well as symbols of pop culture. By 1955 the participants were roughly divided into two camps; Constructivist, and the Independent Group, known for their meetings at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London with some overlap between the two groups.  After This is Tomorrow opened nearly a thousand people a day saw the exhibit.