East African School, Poor Old Man and His Dog

Palette-knife paintings on unstretched cotton are a familiar product of the studios and markets of East Africa. They are sold rolled, to be stretched or framed once home.

An elderly man in a white loincloth stands in profile, one hand on his hip and the other on a tall staff. His white hair and beard are picked out in quick strokes of pale paint. A small spotted dog with pricked ears walks ahead of him. The background is built up in broad, overlapping blocks of blue and white laid on with the knife.

Probably acrylic, applied with a palette knife on unstretched cotton, with a raw border for stretching. A faint signature lower left is not legible in the photographs. Inscribed on the reverse ‘R.C.M. 06 POOR OLD MAN & his DOG’. Unframed.