Glynn Philpot (1884-1937) worked mainly as a painter and sculptor. As a child he showed talent as an artist and went to study at Lambeth School of Art. His early work reflects the style of the artist and illustrator Charles Rickets (1866-1931). During the early twentieth century Philpot became popular as a portrait artist. Always concerned that his style would become stale he chose different poses and techniques for these works. Constantly dissatisfied with his work, Philpot travelled to different places including Paris, North Africa and Venice. The portraits that Philpot is best known for present a cross-section of early twentieth century, from his portraits of admirals during the First World War to the portraits of dancers from the Ballet Russes of the 1920s.

This sketchbook reflects the artist's popularity as a portrait painter in the early twentieth century as well as his continuing interest in drawing from life. The first two pages contain studies of a man's head, possibly for an unidentified portrait. There are also two studies for a portrait of Lisa Maugham, daughter of the writer W. Somerset Maugham.