Sir Stanley Spencer R.A.

Arthur Tooth & Sons, London, where acquired by Wilfrid A. Evill in 1939 for £150.0.0, by whom bequeathed to Honor Frost in 1963

London, The Home of Wilfrid A. Evill, Contemporary Art Society, Catalogue of Part of a Collection of Oil Paintings, Water Colours, Drawings and Sculpture Belonging to W. A. Evill, Esq., December 1947 - February 1948, cat. no.11;
Hampstead, The Home of Wilfrid A. Evill, Contemporary Art Society, Catalogue of the Greater Portion of a Collection of Modern English Paintings, Water Colours, Drawings and Sculpture Belonging to W. A. Evill, March 1955, cat. no.7;
London, The Home of Wilfrid A. Evill, Contemporary Art Society, Pictures, Drawings, Water Colours and Sculpture, April - May 1961, (part II- section 2) cat. no.5;
Brighton, Brighton Art Gallery, The Wilfrid Evill Memorial Exhibition, June- August 1965, cat. no.212;
London, Royal Academy, Stanley Spencer RA, 20th September - 14th December 1980, cat. no.185.

Stanley Spencer, documentary directed by David Rowan, Arbor Films/Arts Council of Great Britain, 1979;
Keith Bell, Stanley Spencer: A Complete Catalogue of Paintings, Phaidon, London, 1992, cat. no.230, illustrated p.144.

The colours are brighter, fresher and less yellow than the catalogue illustration suggests. The following condition report has been prepared by Hamish Dewar, Fine Art Conservation, 13 & 14 Mason's Yard, Duke Street, St James's, London, SW1Y 6BU: Structure The canvas is unlined on the original keyed wooden stretcher. This is ensuring a sound and secure structural support. Paint surface The paint surface has a rather uneven varnish layer and there is slight blanching where the varnish is most uneven, particularly on the right arm of the jacket of the man kneeling in the foreground. This could be simply remedied by revarnishing. Inspection under ultra violet light shows no evidence of any retouchings. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in excellent and stable condition and would benefit from revarnishing.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The placement of biblical and spiritual events in the familiar setting of the village of Cookham was a distinctive theme within Spencer's painting throughout his career and by associating the epic and the domestic he felt that such grand concepts became more accessible and understandable. The overall plan for a building dedicated to his paintings that Spencer formulated and elaborated over the years, generally known as 'The Church House', was structured around the idea of Cookham, with the nave-like central area being where he envisaged the paintings that saw the great events of Biblical narrative take place in the village. At the head as the altarpiece was The Resurrection, Cookham (Tate, London).

The Village Lovers belongs to a larger body of paintings, loosely grouped as the Adorations, where Spencer investigated the idea of Cookham and its inhabitants after the Last Day, where the old world has been thrown off and the men and women engage in a new-found freedom.

Thus we find ourselves at the War Memorial, a familiar landmark of the village and one which appears as a central point in many of Spencer's paintings, most notably A Village in Heaven (fig. 1, Manchester City Art Gallery), also of 1937. Spencer imbues the whole scene with a sense of joy and excitement, the young people mingling and choosing partners. Set in the paradisiacal time after The Last Day, all are freed from the conventions and moral strictures of our world and thus are at liberty to enjoy themselves without any repercussions. In many cases we see the girls taking a rather more active role in this, and indeed many of the male figures have the Stanley-like attributes familiar to us in the paintings of this period.   

Once more his own circumstances inform his imagery, and from his letters, and actions, in the period running up to the granting of his divorce from Hilda and impending marriage to Patricia, it is evident that Spencer was actively entertaining the concept that somehow both women would be his wives. That neither woman was likely to take this seriously did not seem to impede his vision (although there is a suspicion in the letters that Patricia was encouraging him in this plan, presumably as a means of directing Stanley's sexual appetites back towards Hilda), and a painting such as The Village Lovers stands as testament to the artist's fervent presentation of his ideas. Whilst one or two of the figures appear a little hesitant or coy, the majority are throwing themselves into the occasion. Indeed the two girls who lie on the grass are clearly very relaxed with their new-found freedom, rather more so than the rather tense looking Stanley figure who crouches in the foreground, holding both their arms. The sense of worship and adoration is very much reminiscent of two other major paintings, also of 1937, Adoration of Old Men (Leicestershire Museums and Art Galleries) and Adoration of Girls (Private Collection), as well as Beatitude 8: Worship (lot 17), but the more expansive setting of the village green gives the painting an openness and ease that balances the element of sexual excitement more evenly with the wider joy and release of the event.