Gilbert Spencer RA Original British Slade School Modernist Post War Cookham Bowling Green Oil Painting

Gilbert Spencer original vintage British Post War Slade School modernist painting of men on a bowling green in England. The painting remains housed in the original vintage gold painted, wood carved frame, and is in excellent original condition. The painting is signed in the lower right corner, and the gallery paper seal is still present, verso. The painting measures approximately 9.35" x 12.35". With the frame, the entire artwork measures approximately 11.65" x 14.65". The painting is estimated to have been created in the mid- 1950s, although it could be a bit later. The location of the painting's social and lawn bowl sports scene is likely in Cookham, Berkshire. In the post World II era, lawn bowls were very popular in Britain. Though Gilbert Spencer moved away at various times, Cookham was the Spencer brothers' ancestral home and lifelong anchor. The Cookham Bowling Club (established in the early 20th century), features a historic, picturesque green, nestled right in the heart of the village. Gilbert Spencer frequently returned to Cookham throughout his life to capture local leisure, everyday life, and village sports.

  Gilbert Spencer RA, (1892- 1979), was a prominent British painter, muralist, and illustrator, widely recognized for his poignant landscapes of rural England, portraiture, andpublic wall paintings. While his artistic legacy was overshadowed by his older brother, Sir Stanley Spencer, Gilbert carved out ahighly distinguished six- decade career as both an innovative modernist and influential educator. 

  Gilbert Spencer made his name capturing the rolling hills and agricultural life of Southern English counties like Berkshire, Oxfordshire, and Dorset. His work is celebrated for its stylized composition and focus on the enduring bond between humanity and nature. Gilbert Spencer played an important role in reinvigorating public wall painting. His most famous commission was creating the foundation wall paintings for Holywell Manor, Oxford, between 1934 and 1936.

  Gilbert Spencer served in the Royal Army Medical Corps during World War I. Later, during World War II, he was appointed an Official War Artist, documenting the Home Guard, and creating pieces commissioned by the Imperial War Museum.

  In the late 1930s, Gilbert Spencer's style shifted, to focus on intimate, un- posed figures from daily village life, such as local trades people, farmers, and family members.

  Beyond his studio practice, Gilbert Spencer was one of the most successful and sough- after educators of his generation. He trained at the prestigious Slade School of Fine Art, before taking several academic leadership roles. Between 1932 and 1948, he was a Professor of Painting at the Royal College of Art. Gilbert Spencer was the Head of the Department of Painting at the Glasgow School of Art, (1948-1950), and was the Head of Painting at the Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, (1950-1957).

  Gilbert Spencer was elected a full member of the Royal Academy of Arts (RA), in 1959. He was also a writer, publishing a biography of his brother in 1960, and his own biography, "Memoirs of a Painter", in 1974.

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