Mr. Thomas Derrick is a black-and-white artist of originality and
power. In The Prodigal Son and Other Parables (Basil Blackwell, 7s. 6d.) he applies in his twentieth- century illustrations to four familiar passages from the New Testament the methods which Sir Barry Jackson applies to Shakespeare. He has done it successfully, and—more important—he has done it in the right way, sticking punc- tiliously to the implications of the text, yet never contrasting with it, for purposes of effect, the modernity of his medium and his manner. His drawings are economical, assured and consistently witty, depending not at all on exaggeration but embodying comment on a scene in the shrewd delineation of its bare essentials. Our only regret is that his pencil was not attracted by themes which would have given more cumulative opportunity to his keen eye for dramatic effect. We confidently expect to see a good deal more of Mr. Derrick's work in the near future. There is no doubting the individuality or the excellence of his technique._ * * * *
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