Oil on canvas. Dressed sharply in a maroon velvet suit, complete with purple handkerchief in his breast pocket, spotted bow tie and crisp white shirt, the man in Craigie Aitchison’s portrait exudes laid-back elegance. The sharpness of his hairline complements the panache of his clothes. His slightly parted lips reveal the glint of a gold tooth (created by a piece of gold leaf applied to the painting’s surface). In contrast to the flatness of the dazzling yellow background behind him, the defined outline and bulk of this man’s body springs out from the canvas. It is just as if he is sitting in front of us, pausing mid- conversation to look to his side. The man featured here is Alton Peters, one of Aitchison’s friends. Like most other models, Peters is someone that the artist knew personally, rather than a stranger. Aitchison tended to avoid portrait commissions, and always painted directly in the presence of a sitter. He once said: â€In a portrait you’re trying to get the person opposite you onto the canvas. If I could, I would trace them’. From quite early on in his painting career, Aitchison chose black men and women for his models, usually drawn from his own circle of friends.
