Arthur Joseph Gaskin was a member of the Birmingham Group of Artist-Craftsmen, led by his friend Joseph Edward Southall. Gaskin worked in diverse mediums, such as tempera and woodcut prints, and also produced jewellery with his wife and fellow-artist Georgie Gaskin. This pastel drawing depicts a searchlight shining above a train at Olton railway station in the West Midlands in 1917. A plume of smoke rises from the train at the right of the composition. In this year, Gaskin also played a major role in organising Roger Fry's exhibition 'The New Movement in Art' which took place at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists and the Mansard Gallery, London.