SPENCER
(Gilbert, 1892-1979, Artist, brother of Sir Stanley)
Superb illustrated ALS to Vera LANE POOLE
(1890-1965, Vera Ellen Dendy, Painter, Wife of Austin Lane Poole, 1889-1963, Historian, from 1913 Tutor, then Fellow at St John's College, Oxford, President, 1947-1957) telling her that his “attention has been drawn to a notice in the Times about the Ruskin School & I hasten to tell you that since seeing you I have accepted the headship of the dept of drawing & Painting at the Glasgow School of Art. I feel that down south is ‘enemy occupied country’ where I am concerned & my appointment to Glasgow was unanimous. Which is at least a nice feeling to have altho as yet I have to earn their confidence. There are many things about the post that attracts me, the salary is a four figure one, I am able to give a fair amount of time to my own work, there are 22 weeks holiday a year & the summer vacation is from June 10 till Sep 27. Glasgow is a city of character & interest & I think for a time it might be good for my pointing if I don’t have the country quite so much at my beck & call - absence makes the heart grow fonder and I hope the eyes see better. We have been here for a month, this country has a kind of... fascination for me because Munnings is alleged to have declared that no artist ever succeeded in the North. I fear I think there is some point in what he said. We have not made up our minds as to what we shall do about the cottage, if we do sell it it will only be if we have got some.... alternative a bit further out from London but round about the same district. We walked to Brantwood this afternoon. I am quite sure Ruskin was a great man but I can’t stand him & his house...” here he has drawn a picture of Ruskin’s house with its many parts and continues “This is an exaggeration but I believe the only part standing when he took it over that marked X is nice simple house...” he ends signing back on the front page with a note “It was very good of you to interest yourself in my ‘case’”, 3 sides 8vo., c’o Mrs Herdman, Hoathwaite Farm, Conniston, 9th September
Item Date:
1948
Stock No:
42148
£575
Add to Wish List
Order/Enquire
Full Details
|
|
SPENCER
(Gilbert, 1892-1979, Artist, brother of Sir Stanley)
Fine Autograph Letter Signed to Vera LANE POOLE
(1890-1965, Vera Ellen Dendy, Painter, Wife of Austin Lane Poole, 1889-1963, Historian, from 1913 Tutor, then Fellow at St John's College, Oxford, President, 1947-1957) saying he was sorry to hear “about Austin & you. I want to come over as soon as I can get a chance. Stanley has had a very serious operation but has come out of it well and muted optimism becomes less muted as time passes. He is very lively in the circumstances. My own movements are restricted for the moment because I like to to get over & see him as much as I can. I had a letter from Henry the other day. He expressed the hope that I was growing older gracefully. I don’t think I am. I must admit that I find the backward glances terribly attractive But Gillian is happy enough so I suppose it’s all alright really. She is with the Linden Singers & broadcasts quite a bit I like it very much. I am just completing a largish mural for the teas room at the R.A. 19’ x 9 in which I have traced an artist’s progress from the cot to the National Gallery if he is very good. I also finished one in the Student’s Union London U. based on the Scholar Gipsy, 15’ x 10’. I regard these as the equivalent of two one man shows so I can say that I am not relaxing in my efforts...”, 2 sides 8vo., The Cottage, Upper Basildon, Berks, no date but
Item Date:
1958
Stock No:
43547
£225
Add to Wish List
Order/Enquire
Full Details
|
|
SPENCER
(Gilbert, 1892-1979, Artist, brother of Sir Stanley)
Fine Long early Autograph Letter Signed to Austin and Vera LANE POOLE
(1889-1963, Historian, from 1913 Tutor, then Fellow at St John's College, Oxford, President, 1947-1957 and his wife 1890-1965, Vera Ellen Dendy, Painter, saying that he is “suffering under the influence of the first shock of the empty chair complaint, not being a wireless enthusiast & not being a spiritualist I am left with no other alternative but to talk to you through the medium of His Majesties Post Master General. I heard you go off yesterday & felt half inclined to run up this hill to cheer you on your way. I did not. feel particularly happy at returning but Marjorie is doing her best to keep my spirits in the ascendancy. I am terribly affected by associations & environments & in spite of my apparently living alone I am in fact very much part of & among my friends. To love one’s friends does not mean that one has got to be perpetually on their door step neither does it mean that one has even got to be continually writing. To my way of thinking the making and keeping of friends is a fine art. My friends are all in a sort of nursery & I am the nurse... I have entered upon my duties as a householder with all the dignity & fortitude I can muster but the children still titter every time they say ‘Good night Mr Spencer’...” there is then a lengthy description of his daily routine before continuing to his work “I am now painting those lovely little dark fir trees which look so good against the grey roofs of the houses. I have definitely decided to put some pigs in the foreground as I am certain that no portrait of Lower Chedworth would be true without them. On returning to dinner which Marjorie serves up with remarkable dexterity I remark that the butcher has not sent me what I asked for - half a leg of mutton the knuckle end - being very careful not to betray to her the fact that I did not ask for the other end (which thank God he sent) because I did not know its name. After dinner I take a walk...” he continues with the details of the rest of his day with comments on the people in the village and the book he is reading (Tess of the D’Urbervilles), “The ducks still wend their irrigated way down the many interlacing streams quacking their appreciation of Christmas having passed & sticking to their courses as faithfully as any railway engine. The Steam Roller still finds life full of ups & downs & I should like to ask the driver whether he likes sailing but he might ‘turn funny’. It rained this morning so I could not paint... Dean came in a little later & told me that he was so frightfully busy with Parochial affairs etc that he had that day transferred the whole of that huge undertaking - the supply of York Cottage with electric light - to another manager... Well my pen has fairly run riot with me tonight. I started this letter with the intention of stating in plain & simple language my affectionate gratitude for the very happy time I have spent here with you & the hope that again someday I shall cross the threshold of your door to add another link to the happiness of my experiences. This letter passes through some rather mixed phases...”, 11 sides 8vo.,, with original autograph envelope, c/o Mrs Poole, Chedworth, Gloucestershire, postmarked
Item Date:
1923
Stock No:
43624
£225
Add to Wish List
Order/Enquire
Full Details
|
|
[SPENCER
(Gilbert, 1892-1979, R.A., brother of Stanley)]
Delightful unsigned Christmas Card, titled within the drawing
'Greetings from Gilbert, Ursula and Gillian Spencer', showing a shepherd with his dog relaxing in the glow of a fire he has lit in the corner of a field, his back towards a tree, sheep grazing nearby, barely noticeable between the branches is a bright star, all drawn in short, very effective pencil strokes, printed by the University Press, Oxford, 4¾" x 5¼" folded, Tree Cottage, Upper Basildon, Berkshire, no date, circa
apparently unused
Item Date:
1950
Stock No:
54400
£75
Add to Wish List
Order/Enquire
Full Details
|
|
STEADMAN
(Ralph, born 1936, Welsh Illustrator and Cartoonist)
Original sketch signed and dated
showing a very stylised face with the name Billy Brownlow on the forehead, the the word "Grrrr!!!" coming out of his mouth in a speech bubble, 10" x 8" no plae, 12th October
Item Date:
1993
Stock No:
39830
£275
Add to Wish List
Order/Enquire
Full Details
|
|