Avalanche, Switzerland

Details

Sir Stanley Spencer, R.A. (1881-1959)
Avalanche, Switzerland
signed with initials and dated 'SS 36' (lower right)
oil on canvas
18 x 22 in. (45.7 x 55.9 cm.)

Provenance

Commissioned by Sir Edward Beddington-Behrens in 1935.
Purchased by F. Scaramanga from the artist in 1936.
with Leger Gallery, London, 1947.
Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, 1952.
with Agnew's, London.

Literature

M. Collis, A Private View of Stanley Spencer, London, 1972, pp. 66-67.
K. Bell, Stanley Spencer A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings, London, 1992, pp. 439-440, no. 185, illustrated.

Exhibited

London, Arthur Tooth & Sons, Recent Paintings by Stanley Spencer, June 1936, no. 19.
Leeds, City Art Gallery, Temple Newsam House, Paintings and Drawings by Stanley Spencer, July 1947, no. 34.
London, Royal Academy, Stanley Spencer, September - December 1980, p. 147, no. 170, illustrated.

Special Notice

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Lot Essay

In 1933 Spencer created a small group of paintings after a visit to Sir Edward Beddington-Behrens at Saas Fee, a village in the Swiss Alps. Spencer's patron hoped that the religious lives of the Alpine villagers would provide him with inspiration for a series of works. The artist made a second journey in 1935 after which he painted the present work, which draws on the themes in his largest painting from the series A Souvenir of Switzerland (private collection).

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