The Spencers and the
Carlines
To
mark the 50th anniversary of Spencer’s death,
the packed audience at the Spencer Gallery had a real treat on
Thursday evening . Not only were Stanley’s two daughters,
Shirin and Unity, and his wife Hilda’s nephew and niece
Francis and Hermoine Carline there, but they shared
reminiscences of their fathers with the audience. The
theme of the evening was a ‘Family of Artists’.
When
Stanley and Hilda Carline married in 1925, it united the two
talented families. These included Gilbert Carline, her father
known for his picturesque work and family portraits (often in
fancy dress). Then her mother Annie, illustrator of
children’s books, who was the only one of the two families
to exhibit in Paris. Also Hilda’s brothers, Sydney and
Richard, the latter a well known war artist. Gilbert Spencer,
Stanley’s brother, also a war artist but with a strong sense
of humour. All were included in the presentation. This was
comprised of photographs, and images of paintings, with
recorded commentary given by Spencer’s daughters, nephews
and nieces. This made it such a personal and interesting
evening.
Shirin
shared happy memories of the two families coming together in
Cookham. It was her idea of Heaven she said. Everyone was
painting, the cows on Odney Common, and Hilda was painting Cookham bridge . As a child she thought it
was magical that tubes of colour on a palette became a
painting. Another happy memory Shirin shared was how, when she
was walking with her mother on Hampstead Heath, she showed her
how a yellow buttercup could became green when held in the
shadow of her coat. The daughters summed up the influence
Hilda and Stanley had on each others work“ It was a kind of
osmosis, they both fed off each other”
The
Family of Artists continues to flourish. A portrait of
Stanley, painted by Unity towards the end of his life, hangs
in the Gallery today.
