Biography
Stanley Spencer was born in 1891 in Cookham, a small village in Berkshire that would continue to permeate his art for the rest of his life. The family was artistic and academic, and in 1908 Spencer began a period of study at London’s Slade School of Fine Art, where he won several prizes and was selected for Roger Fry’s second Post-Impressionist exhibition in 1912. During the First World War he was stationed in Macedonia, and fought on the front line in 1917. The experience was most traumatic for Spencer, who claimed he had lost the ‘early morning feeling’ of his youth. The theme of war would continue to appear in his painting, not least in his murals for the Sandham Memorial Chapel at Burghclere. In addition, his art reflected his deep, but unconventional, religious beliefs. His first solo exhibition was held in 1927, and he served as an official war artist during the Second World War. He was also elected to the Royal Academy of Arts, knighted, and awarded a CBE before his death in 1959.
For available works, please contact the gallery.
