Gilbert Spencer

Artist Sir Stanley Spencer (Cookham, England, 1891 - 1959)

Sitter Gilbert Spencer (Cookham, England, 1892 - 1979)

Datec. 1921

Mediumpencil on paper

ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings

DimensionsOverall: Height: 22.9 cm, Width: 20 cm
Frame Size: 59.2 × 44cm

AcquisitionPurchased in 1980 with assistance from the National Fund for Acquisitions.

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDAG000538

Keywords

About MeStanley Spencer attended the Slade School of Art in London from 1908-1912 where he developed his skill as a draughtsman. This was later to haunt the artist who declared:

'.....If I do a drawing of a head it's utterly worthless, it's nothing but a Slade drawing of a head....If I do a.....resurrection or a visitation it's got something marvellous about it...it's awful after four years at the Slade to find oneself not in possession of an imaginative capacity to draw, but instead to find that one has contracted a disease.' (Letter to Desmond Chute, 17 November 1926. Quoted in J. Rothenstein, 'Stanley Spencer: The Man' 1979, pp21-22

In spite of this self-deprecation, this small study reveals the artist's innate ability to capture the character of his brother with a few choice lines. The delicate shading ably describes the muscles of the face and the fullness of the sitter's mouth. With piercing eyes cast upwards, the drawing has the intensity of a self-portrait.
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Spencer capturing the character of his 29 year old brother. With piercing eyes cast onwards, the drawing has the intensity of a self portrait