Stanley Spencer (British, 1891-1959) - “Study for Plumbers” Graphite on Paper (Ca. 1939)

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Stanley Spencer (British, 1891-1959) - “Study for Plumbers” Graphite on Paper (ca. 1938). Detail sketch of a plumber for the … Read more Stanley Spencer (British, 1891-1959) - “Study for Plumbers” Graphite on Paper (ca. 1938). Detail sketch of a plumber for the large scale painting “Shipbuilding on the Clyde.” The sketch is gridded out for the scaling of the image to the large scale triptych that was to become the furnished piece. On the backside are sketches for the welders for the “Welders” section of the series. The second welder sketch is a self portrait of Spencer that he included in the final piece. The drawing comes directly from Stanley Spencer’s personal sketchbook. Last two pictures are of the sketchbook itself. Stamped in the lower left hand corner with the Christie’s “Stanley Spencer Studio Sale” stamp and numbered “119” in pen. In good condition with existing stains and markings along the edges. Please refer to pictures for details. Provenance: Christie’s London, The Stanley Spencer Studio Sale, 5 November 1998.

Size: 14 X 9 1/8 in

In the words of Stanley Spencer Gallery Curator Carolyn Leder, 'one of the most remarkable artistic records of the Second World War'. 'He achieved a rare feat,' she continues, 'by producing some of the most original masterpieces by any artist in response to the two great conflicts of the 20th century.' An official war artist, Spencer was sent by the Ministry of Information to the Kingston shipyard at Port Glasgow on the river Clyde, owned by Sir James Lithgow. The eight paintings in the series (six of which appear in this exhibition) depict all of the major processes involved in the yard's intensive production of 'Y' class merchant ships during the war. No set pieces or grand events here, just a faithful, albeit compressed, record of the manual process involved in the prodigious efforts of the workers. Spencer himself appears in Burners and Welders. See less