What do Bob Dylan’s drawings reveal about his music?

By S.H.

BOB DYLAN has been producing and displaying visual art for the last decade. It is a somewhat puzzling endeavour, given that it has never met much acclaim (but has attracted controversy, as critics thought some paintings resembled famous photographs). Is it not enough for Mr Dylan to be one of the best singer-songwriters in history, a judgment cemented by his win in 2016 of the Nobel prize in literature? He was hailed by the committee as a “great poet in the English tradition”.

It seems it is not. For a show at the Halcyon Gallery in London, he has created nearly 60 new drawings, displayed alongside paintings and ironworks. The sketches are the main attraction as they illustrate a number of his most famous songs. A set of handwritten lyrics hangs beside each image; Mr Dylan has tinkered with his words over the years, and some of those on show are subtly different from the original version, while others have been substantially rewritten. It is the first time that he has wedded his music and his visual art.