Through a collection of diary extracts written by the subjects themselves, Kitaj The Architects: Colin St John Wilson and MJ Long provides a fascinating insight into the artistic process of a painting in composition. RB Kitaj started painting The Architects in August of 1979 to celebrate the remodelling of his home by MJ Long. Painted largely without the models present, this portrait of his friends against the backdrop of the stepped bookcase designed for him by Long marks a significant transition in Kitaj's development as an artist. Breaking with his earlier graphic work, Kitaj experimented with technique in search of a renewed artistic vision, arriving at an awkwardness of composition reminiscent of Manet and a colouration inspired by van Gogh. Kitaj: The Architects closely follows this development, documenting each sitting session, from the first preliminary sketches to the final delivery of the painting in late 1981. A thoughtful and revealing take on Kitaj's artistic method, Colin St John Wilson and MJ Long's observations capture the creative process through the explorations of initial ideas, happy accidents, compositional struggles and dissatisfactions, to the finished artefact.