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Gilbert Spencer (4 August 1892 – 14 January 1979) was a British painter of landscapes, portraits, figure compositions and mural decorations. He worked in oils and watercolour. He was the younger brother of the painter
Stanley Spencer Sir Stanley Spencer, CBE Royal Academy of Arts, RA (30 June 1891 – 14 December 1959) was an English painter. Shortly after leaving the Slade School of Art, Spencer became well known for his paintings depicting Biblical scenes occurring as if ...
.


Early life and education

Born at
Cookham Cookham is a historic River Thames, Thames-side village and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the north-eastern edge of Berkshire, England, north-north-east of Maidenhead and opposite the village of Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, Bourne ...
,
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
, on 4 August 1892, thirteen months after his more famous brother Stanley, Gilbert Spencer was the eighth son and youngest of the eleven children of William Spencer, organist and music teacher, and his wife, Anna Caroline Slack. The family had little spare money and the formal education of their children was sketchy, but what they lacked in schooling was made up for by the talk they heard between their elders at meal times. Gilbert studied at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts and the
Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...
(wood carving) 1911–12. Subsequently, Gilbert followed Stanley to the
Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...
, London, in 1913, remaining until 1915. At the Slade, Gilbert came under the powerful influence of
Henry Tonks Henry Tonks, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, FRCS (9 April 1862 – 8 January 1937) was a British surgeon and later draughtsman and painter of figure subjects, chiefly interiors, and a Caricature, caricaturist. He became an influentia ...
, which remained with him to the end of his life. He won the coveted life drawing prize in 1914 and was runner-up for the summer competition prize, with a huge mural, ''The Seven Ages of Man'' ( Art Gallery of Hamilton, Canada). During the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, after somewhat
pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...
misgivings on the part of both themselves and their mother, both Stanley and Gilbert served in the
Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...
, initially at the Beaufort War Hospital in
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
. Gilbert was then drafted to the
Macedonian front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germa ...
, serving in
Salonika Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
and in the Eastern Mediterranean 1915–19. He returned to his studies at The Slade after the war (1919–20).


Development as an artist

Spencer painted portraits, genre scenes and murals but was primarily a landscape painter, focusing his attention on vistas of
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
,
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
,
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
and the
Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...
. He became a member of the
New English Art Club The New English Art Club (NEAC) is a society for contemporary artists that was founded in London, England, in 1886 as an alternative venue to the Royal Academy. The NEAC holds an annual exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Mall Galleries ...
in 1919. That year, he met Hilda Carline, his brother's future wife, and her brother Sydney Carline. When he became Ruskin Master in 1922, Sydney Carline asked Spencer to join his staff at the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
.
Lady Ottoline Morrell Lady Ottoline Violet Anne Morrell (née Cavendish-Bentinck; 16 June 1873 – 21 April 1938) was an English Aristocracy (class), aristocrat and society hostess. Her patronage was influential in artistic and intellectual circles, where she befri ...
, with whom Spencer was friendly since before the war, found him a room in the village of Garsington near
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
. She allowed him easy access to her own house, Garsington Manor, which was frequented by many illustrious guests including the Bloomsbury set. While living there, Spencer painted ''Trees at Garsington'' (
Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street in Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University ...
, Oxford), ''Garsington Roofs'' and ''The Sheep Fold at Upper Farm'' which "have a characteristic directness of line and clarity of colour." 1923 he had his first solo exhibition at the Goupil Gallery, London. From 1934–6 he created a series of murals depicting the Foundation Legend of
Balliol College Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and ar ...
for
Holywell Manor, Oxford Holywell Manor is a historic building in central Oxford, England, in the parish of Holywell, Oxford, Holywell. It currently houses some of Balliol College, Oxford, Balliol College's postgraduate student population. It is on the corner of Mano ...
. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Spencer served in the 9th (Lakes) Battalion, Westmorland Home Guard while evacuated to the Lake District with staff and students from the Royal College of Art. He was employed as an official war artist, (1940–1943) commissioned to paint scenes of military training in England, and was one of several British artists to become an official artist in both world wars. He was elected an Associate Royal Academician ( A.R.A) in 1950 and a full member in 1959. He temporarily resigned his membership of the
Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...
in 1968, before rejoining in 1971. The artist was widely exhibited during his lifetime and examples of his work are held in major public and private collections, including five paintings at the Tate Gallery amongst them ‘A Cotswold Farm’ (1930-1) and ‘The Progress of Husbandry’ (c.1964) and the Royal Academy, including ‘From My Studio’ (1959) A complete catalogue of Gilbert Spencer’s paintings, murals and many works on paper was launched in June 2025.


Teaching

From 1932 to 1948 Gilbert Spencer was Professor of Painting at the
Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...
in London. He was also Head of the Department of Painting at Glasgow School of Art, 1948–50 and, from 1950 to 1957, was Head of Painting at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts under the Principal Leonard Daniels.


Private life

In 1922, while staying with fellow Slade graduate Thomas Saunders Nash (no relation of artists
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
or Paul Nash), Gilbert had an affair with Nash's wife Mabel, resulting in the birth of a son, Peter. Although Peter was registered as Peter Spencer at birth, he later added Mabel's new partner’s surname to become Peter Spencer Coppock as Gilbert did not formally acknowledge his paternity. At the behest of his wife, Gilbert did however pay for Peter's education and have him to stay during school holidays. Gilbert Spencer married a former Slade School of Art student, Margaret Ursula Bradshaw (1898–1959) on 31 December 1930 at Holy Trinity Church, South Kensington, London. The artist John Nash (brother of Paul Nash) was his best man. The Spencers' daughter Gillian was born on 21 October 1936. They lived at Tree Cottage, Upper Basildon, Berkshire from 1936–70. Thereafter, at the invitation of his friends and patrons the Martineau family, he retired to Walsham-le-Willows,
Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
, and died at Lynderswood Court,
Black Notley Black Notley is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is located approximately south of Braintree, Essex, Braintree and is north-northeast from the county town of Chelmsford. According to the 2011 census including Young's End it ha ...
,
Braintree, Essex Braintree is a town in Essex, England, and is the principal settlement of Braintree District. It is located north-east of Chelmsford, west of Colchester and north-west of Southend-on-Sea. According to the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 Cens ...
, on 14 January 1979. One obituary recognised Gilbert Spencer’s contribution to British painting, celebrating over one hundred paintings and drawings exhibited at the Royal Academy, and his clear place in the pantheon of English landscape artists. His works, it was written, “not only depict the countryside which by upbringing he loved so much but somehow convey their period. He might well be called the John Constable of the twentieth century.”


Writing

Gilbert was commissioned in 1959-60 by Victor Gollancz to write a posthumous biography of his brother, ''Stanley Spencer'' (1961); he also wrote an illustrated autobiography ''Memoirs of a Painter'' (1974). In April 2024 Yale University Press published 'Gilbert Spencer: The Life and Work of a Very English Artist', by Paul Gough, with contributions by Sacha Llewellyn and Amanda Bradley Petitgas


References


External links

*
Tate Collection website page

Gilbert Spencer Family Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Gilbert 1892 births 1979 deaths 20th-century English painters Academics of Camberwell College of Arts Academics of the Royal College of Art Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art Alumni of University College London British Army personnel of World War I English war artists English male painters English modern painters People from Cookham Royal Academicians Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers Sibling artists 20th-century English male artists