This assured head study in red chalk, recognisable by the distinctive initials, is the work of Thomas Riley, who was an English painter and etcher working from around 1878 to 1892. He exhibited at the Royal Academy and elsewhere in London, sending his pictures in from a Chelsea address. He is best remembered today from his etched work. Etched subjects cover some figure work, but concentrate mainly on landscape and architectural subjects, which were often used as illustrations to various publications. But he was clearly a painter as well and his pictures, known from their titles at the Royal Academy - Chloe, Jealousy, The Soul Released, and Slumber - suggest that he was an artist also interested in the classical, allegorical and symbolist concerns of his day.

This picture, with its unmistakeable directness of connection between subject and viewer can only be a self-portrait. This is interesting as, up until now, no image of Thomas Riley has been known. Riley’s etchings are to be found, but his original drawings and paintings are rare. That we now have an image of Riley himself by his own hand makes a very welcome addition to the oeuvre of this interesting artist, who produced nothing beyond the early 1890s and, it must perhaps be concluded, died before his time.