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A look

A look

A LOOK AT SOME OF THE MOST USEFUL BOOKS ABOUT STANLEY SPENCER.

It should be remembered that as one of the most important British painters of this century Spencer features in almost all the books on twentieth-century British art. These are useful as a way of setting his work in context, but for more detailed information the books examined below are invaluable. Although some of them are out of print your local library should be able to get you a copy through the inter-library loans scheme, be polite but insistent! For students, the libraries at the Courtauld and University College have good collections of Spencer books. If you are desperate the Stanley Spencer Gallery at Cookham also has most of the books, though they have no photocopy facilities and nowhere quiet to work. Finally the Tate Gallery library has most of the books on the list. If you wish to buy out of print books using the Internet then both the Amazon UK and main Amazon sites are an obvious starting point. Search for 'Stanley Spencer' in the 'all categories' section and it will tell you what is available. Using this method I found a copy of the Louise Collis book for just £5.50!

Stanley Spencer, Letters & Writings

An absolutely essential purchase for anyone writing in depth about Spencer. Adrian is the curator of the Spencer archive at the Tate. He has meticulously collated Stanley's writing to give a picture of the various stages of his life. Anyone who has worked in the archive will know that Stanley's writing is often hard to decipher and that one letter may cover a range of topics and times in his life. Adrian has unravelled this tangle to produce a clear and beautifully indexed book. I really can't recommend it highly enough.

Stanley Spencer

The catalogue to the Tate's wonderful exhibition. An excellent purchase for anyone wanting a well illustrated guide to Stanley's work. The essays by Tim and Patrick are both superb, giving fresh insight into the paintings and Stanley's life. The colour plates are well reproduced and include a number of drawings I hadn't seen before.

Stanley Spencer, Kitty Hauser

A very accessible introduction to Spencer's life and works. Extensively illustrated and beautifully written I would recommend this as an excellent buy for anyone who wants to know more about Spencer.

The Apotheosis of Love;

This was an exhibition at the Barbican, which focussed on Church House (my pet topic). It's the only book which brings the paintings together in the way that Spencer intended. As a result it gives a real insight into his ideas for the building. In doing so it gives an indication of how the works cohere in this context and debunks the myth of Spencer as an artist without direction. Rather expensive (about £17.50) for a small paperback but nevertheless invaluable.

Stanley Spencer: A Complete Catalogue of the Works.

This has to be the definitive guide to the man, written by one of the foremost authorities on Spencer. It's 544 pages long and lists and illustrates all the known Paintings. The different aspects of the works have their own chapters, e.g. Landscape, Portraits etc. This is a useful way of gaining an idea of the types and styles of painting that Spencer used. At the end of the book each work is examined individually in chronological order with a history of the work and how it fits into the oeuvre. There is also a list of references to the work in other publications. All in all this is indispensable to the serious student of Spencer's work. There are just two drawbacks; it costs a wallet flattening £125! And the binding is so poor that my copy is beginning to fall apart.

Stanley Spencer, Keith Bell

This is a new, abbreviated version of the complete catalogue. I haven't studied it in detail but it seems that all that is missing is the detailed catalogue of Stanley's paintings and their history. It is a godsend for those Spencer students who don't want to spend £125! It sells for about £25 and is highly recommended. Please note if you have to order it make sure you don't order his earlier book of the same title! That one is priced at £14.95 and was published in the early 90's.

Stanley Spencer: A Private View.

A controversial book of limited use. Although by Louise Collis it is actually written with Patricia Preece speaking in the first person. Unfortunately the relationship between Spencer and Preece was such that this book seeks to justify Preece's actions. Therefore it should not be treated as a historically accurate document. However it is very interesting as a glimpse into life with Spencer as long as one takes the more extreme allegations about Stanley's sexual fantasies and behaviour with a pinch of salt.

Stanley Spencer: An English Vision.

A reasonable starting place for those new to Spencer's work. This is the catalogue of the exhibition that toured the USA in 1998. It has a good selection of the paintings illustrated in colour with relevant quotes from Spencer's writings. It does however lack an index, which greatly reduces its value as a reference book. Quite how an author of MacCarthy's experience can allow such an omission is a mystery to me.

Stanley Spencer: A Biography.

Probably the most useful book of them all given that it is both comprehensive and affordable. Unfortunately it is now out of print and Ken tells me that it is unlikely ever to be reprinted. Luckily it sold well so a search of specialist second-hand bookshops should produce a copy. This is the starting point for those wishing to investigate Stanley's life in more detail. Pople has brought together all the strands of his life and managed to produce a highly readable biography. Fortunately Ken has now posted a long essay on Stanley's life and work on the web. It can be found at www.stanleyspencer.co.uk

Stanley Spencer the Man.

John Rothenstein knew Spencer for many years and this book is a tribute to their friendship. It consists of a large number of reminiscences by those who knew Stanley. As it covers a wide range of people who knew him in different capacities it gives a broad view of Spencer covering many facets of his character. This is best read in conjunction with one of the books that give an overview of his life, as it fills in much of the detail and makes Stanley "come to life". Highly recommended.

The Art of Hilda Carline, Mrs Stanley Spencer.

At last a book about Hilda, a very talented artist in her own right. It is very comprehensively illustrated and includes an excellent essay by Alison Thomas. This includes Hilda's little known early life and art. The revelation for me was her late 'visionary' work when she used pastels to create extraordinary art that owes more to the Renaissance than the 20th century. An essential purchase for anyone interested in exploring more than just the accepted version of Stanley's life

 

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A Bibliography of Stanley Spencer

Important Collections of Spencer's Paintings

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