Lot 9
  • 9

Sir Stanley Spencer R.A.

Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 GBP
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • Sir Stanley Spencer R.A.
  • The Last Day
  • pencil, pen and ink, and ink wash
  • 39.5 by 55.5cm.; 15½ by 22in.
  • Executed circa 1909.

Provenance

Acquired from the Artist (via Arthur Tooth & Sons, London) by Wilfrid A. Evill March 1946 for £52.10.0, by whom bequeathed to Honor Frost in 1963

Exhibited

Leeds, Temple Newsam House, Paintings and Drawings by Stanley Spencer, 25th July - 7th September 1947, cat. no.92;
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.10;
London, The Tate Gallery, Contemporary Art Society, The Private Collector, 23rd March - 23rd April 1950, cat. no.259;
London, The Arts Council of Great Britain, Drawings by Stanley Spencer, 1954-5, cat. no.8;
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.29 (dated 1911);
London, The Home of Wilfrid A. Evill, Contemporary Art Society, Pictures, Drawings, Water Colours and Sculpture, April - May 1961, (part IV- section 1) cat. no.38;
Worthing, Worthing Art Gallery, Sir Stanley Spencer R.A., 9th September - 7th October 1961, cat. no.3;
Brighton, Brighton Art Gallery, The Wilfrid Evill Memorial Exhibition, June - August 1965, cat. no.208;
London, Royal Academy, Stanley Spencer RA, 20th September - 14th December 1980, cat. no.2, illustrated p.38.

Literature

Richard Carline, Stanley Spencer at War, Faber and Faber, London, 1978, p.125;
Keith Bell, Stanley Spencer: A Complete Catalogue of Paintings, Phaidon, London, 1992, illustrated p.15;
Duncan Robinson, Stanley Spencer, Phaidon Press, London, 1990, illustrated pl.5.

Condition

The tone of the paper is much less yellow than it appears in the printed catalogue. The following condition report has been compiled by Jane McAusland FIIC, Conservator and Restorer of Art on Paper: Support This drawing is on a sheet of wove, white paper hinged onto a thin card, which is attached to an over-mount. The drawing is over-mounted on all sides and there is a slight mount stain at the edges. The left-hand side shows a small loss. On the right-hand side there is a horizontal supported tear, approximately 5cm long, running into the horse's blinkers, this ends in a small 'Y' shaped tear, an artist's correction shows on the horse's head. There is another 'U' shaped tear, approximately 8cm long, towards the left of the child's head at the foot. A scratch shows on the cradle's curtain and there is a little surface dirt in places. The pinholes are the artists. The condition of the paper is otherwise good. Medium The condition of the medium is good, though a little faded in some of the lighter washes. Note: This work was viewed outside studio conditions. For enquiries about the present work please contact the department on +44 (0)20 7293 6424.
"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."

Catalogue Note

'This is a very early drawing...It represents the world on the eve of its final dissolution, of which the cows had the first intimation. The child is showing the stigmata, otherwise the world is just happily going on with its everyday duties.' (Wilfrid A. Evill, quoted in The Wilfrid Evill Memorial Exhibition, exh.cat., 1965, p.25)

From his earliest appearance at the Slade, Spencer's unique vision and superlative ability as a draughtsman were never in doubt. Part of a breathtakingly talented generation of students that included David Bomberg, Mark Gertler, C.R.W.Nevinson, Paul Nash, William Roberts and Dora Carrington, he nevertheless stood out, not only by his talent but also by his other-ness from his fellows. Small of stature, and filled with enthusiasms and ideas that to his peers seemed to hark back to a gentler, almost Pre-Raphaelite world, Spencer's vision for a time seemed to be both modern and ancient. Included in the Second Post-Impressionist Exhibition at the Grafton Gallery in 1911, this was in fact not where his direction lay, and indeed he called Professor Tonks of the Slade 'a damn liar' when he suggested Spencer had fallen under the influence of the Post-Impressionists (letter from SS to Sydney Spencer, quoted in Royal Academy, 1980, exh.cat., op.cit., note to cat.no.8).

Spencer's world at this time was indeed not that of the Post-Impressionists but rather one that drew on a variety of sources as varied as Ruskin, Giotto and the English Metaphysicals. He had already developed a clear idea of the unification of locations that he knew well with a narrative of greater events, and thus his work of the Slade period and after explores this concept. Many of the subjects are religious, although this is frequently tempered by a very personal interpretation of the narrative of such stories, bringing together the familiarity and wonder of the everyday with the human emotion of the account.

The Last Day is one of the finest and earliest examples of this, with Spencer visualising the moment at which the world ends in its present form at the coming of Christ. The first sign of this is evident in the reaction of the cows in the background and the child in the centre of the composition, who spreads his arms in imitation of the crucifixion. Around them, the other figures are captured either continuing with their everyday business or, as with the man seated on a donkey, caught in the moment of realisation. This form of presentation, and particularly the snapshot quality, does indeed suggest a connection to the earliest works of the Pre-Raphaelites, such as John Everett Millais' Christ in the House of his Parents of 1849-50 (Tate, London). Typically for Spencer, he locates this momentous event within his known world, setting it in the area of Cliveden Woods. Discussing this drawing in 1944, Spencer noted:

'The eastern aspect of Cookham had a look of great promise. Hearing the crowing in the early morning, my thoughts would veer to the sky above Cliveden Woods. Whatever the sky happened to be, it always had that special meaning when seeing in over the woods. (This picture was)...an effort to express what I love in this place...Vision gives birth to itself...and the joy one feels...causes other joys to join in' (the artist, quoted in R.Carline, op.cit., p.125)