This portrait represents Commander M.M. Denny hard at work standing behind his desk, plotting positions or coordinates on a large map of chart. Denny is shown in profile, a slight frown of concentration on his face as one hand holds the sheets of paper in front of him steady, while the other marks them in pencil. A measuring implement is lying close at hand. On the wall behind him are two posters and a large chart depicting a waterway. His rank as a Commander is made apparent by the awards attached to the left hand side of his uniform jacket, and by the pattern of the embroidery on his cuffs. The artist, William Dring, has signed and dated this portrait on the noticeboard at the top left hand side of the image. The portrait is still in the original mount and frame from the War Artists Advisory Committee. [The original WAAC number is LD. 2670].

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.