In this half-length portrait, William Dring has depicted Commander Donald MacIntyre standing, binoculars around his neck, looking into the middle distance as though on the look out and scanning the horizon. One of his eyebrows is raised and the other one lowered, suggesting he is trying to focus on something he has seen in the distance. Grey sky is visible behind him, and he is wearing a heavy black coat and a navy cap. No obvious clues to his status as a Commander are apparent on his uniform or elsewhere in the portrait. The drawing is not dated, but as the title makes reference to MacIntyre’s Distinguished Service Cross we can presume it was created after September 1944, when he was awarded this honour during his command of HMS ‘Bickerton’. The drawing is still mounted and framed as originally done so by the War Artist’s Advisory Committee. [The original WAAC number is LD. 3304].

William Dring (1904-90) earned his reputation as a fine draughtsman and portrait painter whilst studying under Henry Tonks at the Slade School of Art between 1922 and 1925. He worked as a teacher of drawing and painting at the Southampton School of Art until 1940 when he was employed by the War Artist Advisory Committee, first as official war artist to the Admiralty and later to the Air Ministry. He made a large number of portrait drawings of individuals and groups, all remarkable for their informality. Dring travelled extensively to complete his commissions. The drawing is always precise and carefully modelled using pastel, a medium in which he specialised, and which allowed him to capture the likeness and spirit of his subjects quickly and under a variety of circumstances.