Tennis, exhibited 1939, oil on canvas, 605 x 905mm, Private Collection.
One of Shakespeare’s occasional attempts to portray movement, it is less successful in this respect than his painting of ice skating; the players have a statuesque rather than a dynamic quality and lack conviction. The formal attire, the grass surface, the refreshment table and the umpires chair suggest an up-market private club; from the background, I wonder if it might be the Edgbaston Archery & Lawn Tennis Society.