Charles Spencelayh 1865-1958

Aubrey Noakes, Charles Spencelayh and his Paintings, 1978, repr. p.56

Watercolours of this quality by Spencelayh are rare and when His Dreams was illustrated in Aubrey Noakes book it was described as 'A splendid jumble of miscellaneous clutter assembled on a dressing table, in the mirror of which the sleeping sitter is reflected.' (Aubrey Noakes, Charles Spencelayh and his Paintings, 1978, p. 56)

His Dreams was painted at Spencelayh's three-storied home, Manor Park in Lee in South London, 'And what a house it had been : crammed solid from cellar to attic with the Victorian furniture and bric-a/brac we see in Spencelayh's paintings, a grandfather clock on every landing (there were six at Lee); the stuffed owls and carp in glass cases; smoking caps; frayed silk hats; oil lamps; musical instruments; shabby Gladstone bags; walking-sticks and umbrellas; framed prints... and the ever-increasing acquisitions which resulted from Charles' periodic forays into antique shops.' (ibid Noakes, p. 58)                                                               

One of the greatest charms of Spencelayh's interiors is in his placing of a pleasant-faced old gentleman or comely young lady among arrayed items of bric-a-brac and furniture, which remind us of the houses of our parents and grandparents. The dusty dressing-tables and clocks, earthenware pitchers and battered volumes of books handed down through the family and the miscellany of worn furniture; these all have their quaint appeal. These everyday recognisable objects which evoke feelings of nostalgia and cosy contentment, touch us on an emotional level whilst the hints of an unfolding narrative absorbs us completely into the intimacy of these domestic worlds. The dexterity that Spencelayh demonstrates in the rendering of something as ordinary as a clump of letters or a folded umbrella demonstrates the artist's affection for these trappings of civilised homeliness with which we surround ourselves behind every living room door. These arrayed items were of course the decorations of Spencelayh's own home and the work depicted is very much the world of Spencelayh, peopled by figures that he depicted with an understanding and tenderness which is both beautiful and moving.

Bric-a-brac and old furniture was as important to Spencelayh as the human figures that inhabit his cluttered interiors. Each item was carefully chosen for its symbolic reference to time or domesticity, to fading history of a bygone era. Each item was part of the household inventory of Spencelayh's own life, a selected item from the shelves and mantle-pieces of his home collected over years of occupation. Thus we see items appearing time and time again, some favourites appearing in paintings from decade to decade.