Sketches of Heads

These character studies by Arnold William Brunner demonstrate the foundational work of newspaper illustration in the 1880s. Six heads in profile and three-quarter view—rendered in pen with watercolor accents—show the artist developing facial types and expressions for serial publication. The varied hats, hairstyles, and expressions suggest stock characters for sequential narrative. Such sketches were essential to newspaper artists establishing visual consistency across multiple installments. Brunner's economical linework and attention to physiognomic detail reflect the visual language that would define comic strips when they emerged in the 1890s, as artists refined techniques for depicting recurring characters across daily and Sunday pages.