A hand-modelled plaster bust of a handsome young black man by an unknown British sculptor, made around the mid twentieth century. The plaster surface has been painted by the original artist in a matt black/brown paint with green undertones, as if to imitate bronze with a verdigris patina. It is therefore likely that this work was intended as a maquette for a final sculpture cast in bronze.

Prior to the arrival of the Empire Windrush, thousands of Caribbean, African and African-American servicemen arrived in Britain to help the War effort. The increased presence of Black people in Britain is slightly reflected in the art of the period, although it is far from representative and such images are relatively rare. In the first half of the twentieth century, avant-garde British artists such as Leon Underwood, Glyn Philpot, Jacob Epstein and Frank Dobson made some of the best work that depicted black subjects and sitters. The present bust was likely made by an artist in the succeeding generation and clearly follows on from the groundwork laid by these pioneering artists.