Spencer's works range from uniquely brilliant religious themes to lush florals and landscapes to intense realism.
Born June 30, 1891 in the English town of Cookham by the Thames River, English painter Stanley Spencer went to London’s Slade School of Art – although he remained so attached to his hometown that he would return there every evening after classes. Not surprisingly, Stanley was soon nicknamed “Cookham” by his fellow students.
Cookham and War
At Slade, Spencer was influenced by lecturer Roger Fry, a member of the Bloomsbury group. Fry stressed the importance of Post-Impressionist painters such as Cezanne, Monet and Gaugin, and in 1910 he organized an exhibit of their works. Spencer was fascinated by Paul Gaugin’s paintings of Biblical scenes in then modern-day settings, and he began to think about using Cookham in the same manner, as he still very much loved his birthplace and its magical small-town landscape. One of Spencer’s works done shortly after called The Nativity would place this holy event in Cookham, while his John Donne Arriving in Heaven was included in another Post-Impressionist exhibit which also featured Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.
Spencer was additionally influenced by the Italian Renaissance artist Giotto. He focused on painting in a kind of lyrical, colorfully intense manner, but found that the arrival of World War I darkened his vision. Before serving in a medical unit and then the infantry, he wrote how life “seemed fresh and to belong to the morning. My ideas were beginning to unfold in fine order when along comes the war and smashes everything.”
Hilda and Patricia
Following the war, Spencer tried to recapture his innocence and returned to Cookham, and he also married an art student named Hilda Carline. They couple had two daughters and were together for over a decade until Spencer left Hilda for another painter named Patricia Preece. Unfortunately, Preece planned on using Spencer mainly for financial support.
Their marriage was reportedly never consummated and Spencer lost a great deal to Patricia in the divorce that followed. Then Hilda refused to take him back. Through this unhappy love triangle, Spencer also lost even more of his naïve joy toward the world and found himself painting morbidly unflattering nude portraits of his two ex-wives. However, Spencer did manage to reconnect with Hilda towards the end of her life and considered her his truest love.
Spencer resigned from the Royal Academy of Art in 1935 following the rejection of his works St. Francis and The Birds and The Dustman. He was later charged by the Academy with obscenity for the graphic nature of his nudes, and was forced to hide a painting depicting himself and his second wife away until after his death.
Later Years and Legacy
While he received critical praise and several major art commissions, people weren’t quite sure of what to make of Stanley Spencer in his day. Some considered him just eccentric, while others regarded him as outright blasphemous for suggesting that scenes of great holiness could be linked to modern times. Spencer’s The Resurrection, Cookham shows residents of the town rising from their graves with a meaning and title that like Spencer’s earlier work, The Nativity, might not have been interpreted well by conservative religious minds.
In the 1950s, Spencer rejoined the Royal Academy and was given a retrospective by London’s Tate Gallery. He was knighted at Buckingham Palace and died of cancer shortly after in 1959, just after experiencing a vision of angels. His work is now part of The Tate’s permanent collection, and The Stanley Spencer Gallery in Cookham can be found in the artist’s eternally favorite place.
Sources
- Love, Death and Resurrection: The Paintings of Stanley Spencer
- Sir Stanley Spencer Stands Alone – BBC World
- Sir Stanley Spencer – The Carrick Hill Gallery
