Kossoff's work is absolutely rooted in the observed and intimately known subject, yet the objectivity inherent in trying to capture the motif, also coexists with extreme subjectivity. Thus Kossoff has written not only about his urgency to paint a motif before it changes or is destroyed, but has also stressed the way a subject is internalised:

work is about bringing out what's inside, letting loose thoughts and feelings. Art is a means of externalising and giving expression to what's insideIt's a means of discoveryThe finished work is important as something new, as something I didn't know I was capable of1
present drawing exemplifies this. It depicts an old Victorian school which is now a technical college, minutes from his home, yet Kossoff's response transforms the subject, recalling Van Gogh in Arles or Soutine at Ceret. As in their work, the use of colour is both faithful to the subject, which, in this case, is a building made of red brick, as well as having a fiery emotional resonance.

1. Leon Kossoff, unpublished interview with JH, 27 July 1987