.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The present painting displays what the Times admired as 'the skill with which [Spencelayh] coordinates the detail' as well as 'character and salty humour' (6 April 1957).
Well respected by the public, his Why War? (Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston) was voted 'Picture of the Year' at the Royal Academy exhibition in 1939. As with the present painting, he appreciated the value of a good title; part of his income came from reproduction of his works on calendars, greetings cards, and so on, and he once altered the title of a picture (showing a man reading a bank statement) from Overdrawn at the Bank to A Good Balance, changing it from a non-seller to one that he said 'went like hot cakes'.
Spencelayh's title is taken from Oliver Goldsmith's play of the same name, in which the hero, Charles Marlow, fails to be attracted by his social peers.
Well respected by the public, his Why War? (Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston) was voted 'Picture of the Year' at the Royal Academy exhibition in 1939. As with the present painting, he appreciated the value of a good title; part of his income came from reproduction of his works on calendars, greetings cards, and so on, and he once altered the title of a picture (showing a man reading a bank statement) from Overdrawn at the Bank to A Good Balance, changing it from a non-seller to one that he said 'went like hot cakes'.
Spencelayh's title is taken from Oliver Goldsmith's play of the same name, in which the hero, Charles Marlow, fails to be attracted by his social peers.