Image: St Francis and the Birds 1935 © Estate of Stanley Spencer/DACS 2007
Last Chance to See at Tate Liverpool: Stanley Spencer – Until 27 April 2008
As part of DLA Piper Series: The Twentieth Century – How it looked & how it felt
A key feature of DLA Piper Series: The Twentieth Century displays is a special focus on the work of celebrated British artists. The ground floor gallery is currently dedicated to exploring the work of Stanley Spencer.
Stanley Spencer (1891-1959) became an important figure in British art during the first half of the twentieth century. In certain respects he can be seen as being at the forefront of a return to traditional, figurative art in Britain, after the tumultuous and painful years of the First World War
In Britain, Spencer represented a need for order through a rediscovery of ruralism and home redolent of ‘Britishness’. In Spencer’s painting an introspective view of British society becomes the focus for developing a resolutely figurative and narrative art. Though he painted a variety of subjects Spencer is best known, and loved, for his paintings which combine scenes of everyday life with religious themes and concerns. Spencer’s masterpieces, The Resurrection, Cookham 1924-7 and The Resurrection: Port Glasgow 1947-50 are included in this solo presentation.