Thread by @RobertBohan

Thread: Stanley Spencer (1891-1959) was an eccentric English painter whose work has not received the attention it deserves. He painted unique religious paintings & idiosyncratic nudes, scenes & portaits. Self-portrait (1914), Cottages at Burghclere (1927-30) & Love Letters (1950)

Born in Cookham, Berkshire, he had an unusual upbringing & trained at the Slade (1908-12). Despite access to a London life he would go home to Cookham as much as he could. Some early drawings of Cookham life & religious ideas (1908-12)

Here’s an overview of my artwork. There’s a special Christmas offer where when you buy a drawing, you can choose one free.

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By 1912 he was already taking part in exhibits & had achieved considerable skill. His self-portrait (1914) is an early masterpiece of psychological study & originated from studies done in 1913. Apple-gatherers (1912-3), The Nativity (1912)

Spencer’s genius was to populate his religious images with locals & set them in Cookham landscapes. Self-portrait (1912), Zacharias & Elizabeth (1912-3), The Artist’s Left Hand (1913) & Fragments of a Self-Portrait (1913)

During the Great War he served with the Ambulance Corps as well as being a hospital orderly & fighting in Macedonia. He was invalided out with malaria. The horrors of the war would inform his art. Cookham (1914), Mending Cowls, Cookham (1915) & Tea in the Hospital (c1932)

He returned to Cookham in 1918 & completed one of his greatest works, Swan Upping (1915-9). The contrasting light, the hyper-realism & strong diagonals are typical of Spencer’s approach

Perhaps most personal to him was his commission by the War Memorial Committee in 1919. This resulted in Travoys Arriving with the Wounded at a Dressing Station. The work is imbued with images taken from the Crucifixion (stretchers) & Resurrection (surgeons).

In 1920 he worked on a private oratory. This included Christ Carrying the Cross. The Bridge (1920) & the Last Supper (1920). In these works the use of rhythmic forms & stark contrast are profound

By 1923 he had begun planning one of his greatest works & a high point of English art, The Resurrection, Cookham (1924-7). It daringly includes a self-portrait of the artist nude in the centre of the picture. I really recommend you search it out!

He married Hilda Carline in 1925 & had his first one-man exhibit in 1927. He was feted by the critics. Tree & Chicken Coops, Wangford (1925), Wangford (1926), Bed-making (1927-32) & Elise (1929). His landscapes are stunning in their lighting & his detailed inspection

Between 1927-32 he painted the Sandham Memorial Chapel, Burghclere. The Chapel reminds us of the tens of thousands of wooden crosses he would have seen & his experience of the war. This was a labour of deep emotion

Spencer wanted to build a House-Chapel celebrating his love affairs & beliefs & this gave rise to a number of fascinating & eccentric images over the years. Marriage at Cana (1953) & The Lovers (The Dustmen), 1934.

He divorced in 1935 & Patricia Preece, a lesbian, became his wife. She did not, however, leave her lover, Dorothy Hepworth. The situation would lead to amazing art & strangely raw nudes. Workmen (1935), Patricia Preece (1933) & Portrait of Hilda Carline (1949)

Spencer left Cookham in 1938 having fallen out with both wives. He painted some of his Christ in the Wilderness series in London. The images appear naive but have sophisticated messages

He moved to Gloucestershire in 1939. Self-portraits (1939) & Daphne (1940). Spencer created many self-portraits & looked at himself with a detached, almost cynical, amusement. He would bring that attitude to his nudes (look them up!)

He was a keen painter of flowers including Magnolia (1938), Sunflowers (1938) & Greenhouse Flowers (c1935). With his eye for detail he created botanically accurate images that sing of the 1930s & a love of nature

He worked as a War Artist (1939-45) focusing on the ship building on the Clyde in Scotland. These images of the then shipyards of the world show his understanding of the life & death struggle of the Glaswegians against Nazism. They are powerful images

Between 1945-50 he worked on his Resurrection Series. He also quit the RA as it refused to show some of his work. I really enjoy that he reimagined the biblical story with Cookham residents as the actors in the drama. It puzzled many conservatives at the time

In 1950 the minor artist Munnings reported his work to the police for obscenity based on drawings he found. He was not prosecuted & was awarded a CBE & asked to rejoin the RA. Love Letters (1950), Nude (1935-42) & Self-Portrait with Patricia Preece (1937)

He visited his brother in Belfast a number of times & created some wonderful images of NI. Merville Garden Village (1951). The Butcher’s Shop (1951), Self-portrait (1951) & Amaryllis In Chauntry Court (1951)

He continued to paint with vigour into his last years, even travelling to China in 1954. Daphne by the Window, Belfast (1952), Dinner on the Hotel Lawn (1956-7), Ming Tomb, Beijing (1954) & Wisteria At Englefield (1954)

In 1958 he was knighted. He got cancer in 1959 but still painted a striking self-portrait. He passed away at Cliveden. Self-portrait (1959), Sibyl Williams (1955), Marriage at Cana (1953) & Hilda & I at Pond Street (1954). A great artist worth seeking out.

Here’s more on my art. My drawings are inspired by love, hope & joy.

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