Study for Zacharias and Elizabeth

Details

Sir Stanley Spencer, R.A. (1891-1959)
Study for Zacharias and Elizabeth
pencil, gouache and watercolour on board, squared for transfer
8½ x 6 in. (21.5 x 15.2 cm.)
Executed circa 1913.

Provenance

Private collection, UK.

Special Notice

Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent.

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Anne Haasjes

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Lot Essay

This work is a study for the upper central section of Spencer's painting Zacharias and Elizabeth, 1913-14, jointly owned by Tate Gallery and Sheffield Art Gallery. The oil draws inspiration from St Luke's Gospel in which the archangel Gabriel tells Zacharias that his wife, Elizabeth, will bear a child from God, who will grow up to become St John the Baptist.

Typically Spencer sets this scene in Cookham, and the view is taken from the back window of the staircase landing on the second floor of Wisteria Cottage, looking towards Cliveden Woods. Spencer was allowed to paint there by the owner Jack Hatch, and his family.

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