Gilbert Spencer, portrait of a man smoking a pipe, figures verso
Gilbert Spencer RA (1892 to 1979) Man with a Pipe (c19, oil on canvas, signed with impressed initials 'GS' and drawings (with an outline self-portrait) on verso. c1910
Dimensions: 15.5cm x 21 cm, with frame 20cm x 25.5cm
Condition
The painting is in a good condition, and although there is evidence of craquelure, the paint layer is stable. At some time in its life, the painting has been re-framed and around an inch of the original canvas has been folded beyond what we can see - the piece is complete and could, with care, be folded again.
Painting description
Although an unidentified sitter, the colouration of the man's face can, I think, be subscribed to Percyval Tudor-Hart's training of pupils in painting warm and cold tones so there is a heightened subtlety in the colour harmony. Richard Carline's portrait of his sister Hilda painted in 1918 (and at the Tate) is a good example of this.
Gilbert Spencer was born at Cookham in Berkshire and was the youngest of eleven children of William Spencer, an organist and music teacher, and Anna Caroline Slack. Spencer attended the Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts and the Royal College of Art, before enrolling at the Slade School.
Like many artists of this period, Spencer was taught, and was highly influenced by Henry Tonks, the surgeon turned artist, who depicted facially disfigured soldiers of the First World War waiting to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Thirteen months younger than his brother and fellow painter, Sir Stanley Spencer, Gilbert was a talented artist in his own right. Spencer attended the Slade School of Fine Art between 1913-1915. Here, he met Sydney Carline, the Ruskin master of drawing at Oxford, who later invited Spencer to join his staff.
At the Slade, Spencer won the life-drawing prize in 1914 and came second in the summer competition with his mural titled The Seven Ages of Man [Hamilton Art Gallery, Canada]. For the duration of the First World War he was part of the Royal Army Medical Corps and was sent to Macedonia. Returning to the Slade in 1918, he met Hilda Carline the following year, who would become his brother’s wife, and her brother Sydney, who invited Spencer to join the teaching staff at Oxford.
Gilbert Spencer RA (1892 to 1979) Man with a Pipe (c19, oil on canvas, signed with impressed initials 'GS' and drawings (with an outline self-portrait) on verso. c1910
Dimensions: 15.5cm x 21 cm, with frame 20cm x 25.5cm
Condition
The painting is in a good condition, and although there is evidence of craquelure, the paint layer is stable. At some time in its life, the painting has been re-framed and around an inch of the original canvas has been folded beyond what we can see - the piece is complete and could, with care, be folded again.
Painting description
Although an unidentified sitter, the colouration of the man's face can, I think, be subscribed to Percyval Tudor-Hart's training of pupils in painting warm and cold tones so there is a heightened subtlety in the colour harmony. Richard Carline's portrait of his sister Hilda painted in 1918 (and at the Tate) is a good example of this.
Gilbert Spencer was born at Cookham in Berkshire and was the youngest of eleven children of William Spencer, an organist and music teacher, and Anna Caroline Slack. Spencer attended the Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts and the Royal College of Art, before enrolling at the Slade School.
Like many artists of this period, Spencer was taught, and was highly influenced by Henry Tonks, the surgeon turned artist, who depicted facially disfigured soldiers of the First World War waiting to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Thirteen months younger than his brother and fellow painter, Sir Stanley Spencer, Gilbert was a talented artist in his own right. Spencer attended the Slade School of Fine Art between 1913-1915. Here, he met Sydney Carline, the Ruskin master of drawing at Oxford, who later invited Spencer to join his staff.
At the Slade, Spencer won the life-drawing prize in 1914 and came second in the summer competition with his mural titled The Seven Ages of Man [Hamilton Art Gallery, Canada]. For the duration of the First World War he was part of the Royal Army Medical Corps and was sent to Macedonia. Returning to the Slade in 1918, he met Hilda Carline the following year, who would become his brother’s wife, and her brother Sydney, who invited Spencer to join the teaching staff at Oxford.
Gilbert Spencer RA (1892 to 1979) Man with a Pipe (c19, oil on canvas, signed with impressed initials 'GS' and drawings (with an outline self-portrait) on verso. c1910
Dimensions: 15.5cm x 21 cm, with frame 20cm x 25.5cm
Condition
The painting is in a good condition, and although there is evidence of craquelure, the paint layer is stable. At some time in its life, the painting has been re-framed and around an inch of the original canvas has been folded beyond what we can see - the piece is complete and could, with care, be folded again.
Painting description
Although an unidentified sitter, the colouration of the man's face can, I think, be subscribed to Percyval Tudor-Hart's training of pupils in painting warm and cold tones so there is a heightened subtlety in the colour harmony. Richard Carline's portrait of his sister Hilda painted in 1918 (and at the Tate) is a good example of this.
Gilbert Spencer was born at Cookham in Berkshire and was the youngest of eleven children of William Spencer, an organist and music teacher, and Anna Caroline Slack. Spencer attended the Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts and the Royal College of Art, before enrolling at the Slade School.
Like many artists of this period, Spencer was taught, and was highly influenced by Henry Tonks, the surgeon turned artist, who depicted facially disfigured soldiers of the First World War waiting to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Thirteen months younger than his brother and fellow painter, Sir Stanley Spencer, Gilbert was a talented artist in his own right. Spencer attended the Slade School of Fine Art between 1913-1915. Here, he met Sydney Carline, the Ruskin master of drawing at Oxford, who later invited Spencer to join his staff.
At the Slade, Spencer won the life-drawing prize in 1914 and came second in the summer competition with his mural titled The Seven Ages of Man [Hamilton Art Gallery, Canada]. For the duration of the First World War he was part of the Royal Army Medical Corps and was sent to Macedonia. Returning to the Slade in 1918, he met Hilda Carline the following year, who would become his brother’s wife, and her brother Sydney, who invited Spencer to join the teaching staff at Oxford.