Sir Stanley Spencer, R.A.

Sale, Christie's London, Stanley Spencer Studio Sale, 5th November 1998 (part lot, details untraced), where acquired by the present owner

The sheet appears sound. The sheet has been laid down onto another sheet of tracing paper, which has been attached to the backing card with one tab at each of the upper corners. The left, upper and lower edges of the sheet are uneven, and there are some old creases and handling marks visible to the sheet in places, most apparent in the upper left and right corners, and to the right of the woman's left hip. The sheet has been folded under the card, and there is a 'Stanley Spencer Studio Sale' stamp at the lower left corner of the sheet. There is an area of staining at the lower edge, and there are some spots of surface dirt and studio detritus. There are one or two light spots of foxing, most apparent to the ball held by the child. The work is window mounted and presented in a painted wooden frame, held under glass. Please telephone the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"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."

We are grateful to Carolyn Leder for her kind assistance with the cataloguing of the present work.

This is a sketch for the Crèche series, for which there are no known pictures and only a handful of published drawings. A study for the whole composition, Study for the Crèche series 1940s, is in the Stanley Spencer Gallery (Barbara Karmel Bequest, 1995).¹

A note and annotated sketch in the artist’s papers provide a key to the subject matter (Tate Archive/TGA 733.9.2). Spencer wrote that ‘it is home life scenes surrounding the Visitation I call it Creache [sic] because the chief motive [sic] is children.’

In the Stanley Spencer Gallery’s drawing a frieze-like series of figures appear in the foreground, in front of Spencer’s childhood home, Fernlea, in Cookham High Street. In the centre, two larger figures, drawn to a different scale, represent the Visitation.

Just to the right of centre, is a version of the sketch in this sale, though without the pattern on the woman’s dress. Spencer referred to the adult as an ‘old nurse’, winding wool in her hands while a small child stands on her lap.

The small figure of Spencer’s brother Sydney, using shears to cut the privet hedge in front of Fernlea, appears in the lower right-hand corner of the sketch in this sale. It features in reverse, just to the right of the ‘old nurse’, in the Stanley Spencer Gallery’s drawing. It had already been published as a motif in one of Spencer’s designs for April in the Chatto & Windus Almanack for 1927, the only book he ever illustrated. Stanley had been close to his brother Sydney who planned to take Holy Orders. He was awarded the MC, but was killed in France on 24 September 1918, the final casualty in his battalion before the end of the First World War. His name is recorded on Cookham’s War Memorial.

Carolyn Leder

 

1 Carolyn Leder: The Barbara Karmel Bequest, no.11, Stanley Spencer Gallery, 2^nd edition 2010