This shoulder length portrait depicts Wilson in almost full profile, facing away from the viewer towards the left hand side of the picture plane. The Master at Arms badge is visible on the left lapel of his uniform and on his cap is the Warrant Officer’s badge. Wilson is looking into the middle distance with a serious expression on his face, and his jaw appears to be clenched. A noticeboard is visible behind him and the artist, William Dring, has signed the drawing on one of the notices behind Wilson’s left hand shoulder. The drawing is still in the original mount and frame from the War Artists Advisory Committee. [The original WAAC number is LD. 2969]

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.