Sir Stanley Spencer

Sir Stanley Spencer (1891-1959), English painter, whose style was greatly influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites, a group of mid-19th century English artists who emulated medieval and early Renaissance paintings and their narrative, religious subject matter (see Renaissance Art and Architecture; Middle Ages). Although Spencer's conservative style and solitary personality distanced him from the mainstream of British art, he influenced a number of artists, including his younger brother, Gilbert Spencer, and later painters such as British artist Lucian Freud.

Born in Cookham, Spencer studied between 1908 and 1912 at the Slade School in London. During World War I (1914-1918) he was posted to Macedonia, an experience to which he referred in his decorations for the Sandham Memorial Chapel (1927-1932) in Burghclere, Hampshire, England. He held his first solo exhibition at the Goupil Gallery in London in 1927. During the 1930s Spencer was troubled by both personal and professional difficulties, but his career revived with his appointment by the British government as Official War Artist during World War II (1939-1945). He was knighted in 1958.

Spencer's paintings often place traditional biblical scenes in contemporary settings, usually in the artist's home village of Cookham, as in The Resurrection, Cookham (1923-1927, Tate Gallery, London). A strong erotic element appears in Love among the Nations (1935-1936, Fitzwillam Museum, Cambridge, England). Spencer was also an accomplished landscape and portrait painter.