SPENCER, SIR STANLEY

born June 30, 1891, Cookham, Berkshire, Eng. died Dec. 14, 1959, Taplow, Buckinghamshire one of the leading painters in England between the world wars, whose work primarily draws upon Christian religious subjects. Spencer's work has Surrealistic overtones, a curiously distorted style of drawing, and a strong element of satiric social comment. Spencer studied at the Slade School and first exhibited at the New English Art Club. He frequently used his hometown as a setting and employed modern dress in his paintings based on biblical themes. In the huge Resurrection (192829; Sandham Memorial Chapel, Burghclere, Hampshire) dead soldiers in Cookham churchyard struggle from their tombs into a cross-strewn landscape. In The Resurrection: Port Glasgow (1950; Tate Gallery, London) the swollen figures swarm and writhe over the picture space in attitudes that suggest the apocalyptic visions of early medieval sculpture. Spencer also painted highly finished landscapes and humorous comments on the absurdity of human behaviour. The Nursery (1936; Museum of Modern Art, New York City) is a biting satiric comment on the parent-child relationship. Spencer was elected to the Royal Academy (1950) and knighted in 1959.