Sir Stanley Spencer R.A. (British, 1891-1959)
Mrs Linda Few Brown
oil on canvas
84 x 63.5 cm. (33 x 25 in.)
Painted in 1958
Footnotes:
Provenance
Commissioned by the sitter's parents in 1958, thence by family descent to the present owner
Private Collection, U.K

Exhibited
London, Royal Academy, Summer Exhibition, 2 May-16 August 1959, cat.no.106

Literature
'Our artists look at us - honestly', News Chronicle, 1 May 1959, p.4 (ill.b&w)
'Academy portrait', Maidenhead Advertiser, 8 May 1959, p.9 (ill.b&w)
Exh.cat., The Royal Academy Illustrated 1959, Royal Academy, London, 1959, p.19 (ill.b&w)
Keith Bell, Stanley Spencer, A Complete Catalogue of Paintings, 1992, Phaidon Press, London, p.360, cat.no.433 (col.ill.)

At the time of this portrait, Stanley Spencer had long been acknowledged as one of the leading British painters of the twentieth century. Famed for his imaginative figure paintings and biblical themes, often set in his home village of Cookham, he was also a distinguished war artist. His remarkable murals in the Sandham Memorial Chapel - presented to the National Trust in 1947 - commemorate his experiences in the army during the First World War. In both World Wars, he was a critically acclaimed official war artist.

A versatile genius, he additionally painted a series of mesmerising landscapes and portraits. In his earlier years, the sitters in his portraits were frequently members of his social circle. Throughout his career he produced an outstanding series of honest and uncompromising self-portraits. In the 1930s he painted some startlingly intimate nude portraits of Patricia Preece, his future second wife, two of which were double nudes of the artist with Patricia. When he painted his then lover Daphne Charlton - Daphne 1940 (Tate) - he deliberately reduced her to tears each day to get, as he told her, and she recounted to me, some emotion into her face.

In the 1950s, already a C.B.E. and R.A., he was much in demand as a portraitist, receiving commissions from various friends and patrons (the two often became synonymous). There was the added attraction of their likenesses being exhibited at the Royal Academy. Spencer responded particularly well to his female sitters, often showing them in a half-length format at home in a relaxed setting, as in this portrait of Linda Few Brown.

This is one of Spencer's finest late portraits, and forms a striking image, in which the twenty-three year old Linda leans over the stable-style door, at the front of her house, Sherlocks, in the heart of Cookham Dean. Dressed informally, she seems very close to the viewer, as if about to speak. Linda and Peter Few Brown moved to Cookham Dean on their marriage in 1955. In the picture, her engagement and wedding rings are clearly visible. A few years later they moved again, to Primrose Hill, another house in the Dean.

The format of a woman at a door or window has historical precedents, for instance in seventeenth century Dutch paintings such as Rembrandt's Girl at a Window (1645) (Dulwich Picture Gallery). In the oft quoted but presumably apocryphal account by an early owner, the French theorist Roger de Piles, Rembrandt was supposed to have placed the picture in his window, so that it was mistaken for a real girl. Spencer for his part painted a notably modern woman, but the effect is equally immediate.

In this case, the pose was suggested by Linda's mother Dorothy Milling who with her husband Geoffrey commissioned the portrait; it was regarded locally as a wedding gift. Spencer wrote of the picture on Sherlocks notepaper to his dealer Dudley Tooth, in an undated letter: 'Mrs Milling is bringing in the portrait of Mrs Linda Few Brown. She has given me the cheque for it. It was to have been full of flowers & creepers but I was not able to manage [as he had been ill]. She wanted to pay me more but I insisted on two hundred & seventy five guineas. Doing the painting was a very enjoyable experience. It may be rather an interesting thing to frame. As it was Mrs Milling's idea that I should paint Linda leaning over the door, I think Mrs Milling has very good ideas. Yours ever Stanley'. Mrs Milling received a letter dated 17 March 1959 from Arthur Tooth and Sons, about arrangements for the collection of the picture from her London address, presumably for inclusion in the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition.

Spencer probably also enjoyed the fact that, at the first sitting at least, Linda offered him 'fresh cream cakes', which she understood he liked. She was a regular customer at a local bakery, and one day ordered cakes, explaining she had a 'painter' coming. Dennis Adams in the bakery assumed she referred to a decorator, and thought 'lucky old painter', but was surprised the following day when Linda returned 'followed by a little man with tousled hair, wearing a pin striped suit, which was covered in paint splashes, pushing an old black pram, loaded with painting gear'.

Linda Few Brown later recalled that the sittings lasted a month. She normally gave Spencer a lift on her Vespa scooter from his home, Cliveden View in Cookham Rise, and back when the sitting ended. He would spend the day at work, so she also provided lunch. After the portrait was finished, she asked him to draw her corgi Soxy. He made two drawings with expert rapidity (see lots 25 & 26).

Two photographs, annotated 'Sept 1958', show the artist standing at his easel on the path just outside the door. The partially completed canvas reveals that he focused on the sitter, probably starting as usual with the eyes, so as to position the head correctly on the canvas, before turning his attention to her surroundings. The head of the just over life-size figure is placed close to the top of the canvas. She wears a cardigan and rests her arms on cushions (probably essential for comfort), none of which appear in the final picture. Spencer was a master of composition, framing the sitter with architectural features and providing a view into the interior of the house. With his love of pattern, he has dwelt on lines and curves: contrasting the stripes of her top, and the grooves between the planks of the door, with the swirls of the intricate door knocker and the calligraphic depiction of her hair. The colours stand out clearly and shadow is treated with subtlety.

The painting has not been seen in public since the Royal Academy's summer exhibition of 1959 - his final showing at the RA - where it was one of three works by Spencer. The other two were his Portrait of Kate Morrell (1959) and Boys' Garden (1957) (the area of Kate's garden where her sons played). The portrait of Linda Few Brown was singled out by the reviewer in the News Chronicle (May 1, 1959), who criticised many artists for depicting 'merely pretty girls', whereas 'Stanley Spencer has looked hard at Linda Few Brown'. The portrait was reproduced over the caption, THE 'GIRL WITH CHARACTER'.

On 7 July 1959, not long after the portrait was on display, Stanley Spencer received his knighthood at Buckingham Palace from the Queen Mother.

We are grateful to Carolyn Leder for compiling this catalogue entry.
This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: AR
AR Goods subject to Artists Resale Right Additional Premium.