This self-portrait dates from the start of the Second World War, shortly before a young Colquhoun served as an ambulance driver in the Royal Army Medical Corps. He served for one year before he was injured and returned home. Colquhoun’s earliest works, like this, are based on close observation. He later developed a more Expressionist style, employing sharp, aggressive forms and concentrating mainly on the theme of the isolated and agonised figure.