From 1913 to 1919, Wadsworth was an exponent of Vorticism, an avant-garde movement in England that, like a vortex or whirling force, drew all the most positive innovative elements of the time into an energetic synthesis. This group of artists, which also included Windham Lewis, David Bomberg, and Christopher Nevinson, developed geometric styles that merged the spatial analysis of Cubism with the preoccupation with dynamic urban motifs and industrial landscapes celebrated by the Italian Futurists. The description of a ship's engine room in Joseph Conrad's novel Typhoon was the motivation for Illustration. The topic was a natural choice for Wadsworth, who was interested in both machinery and the sea.
