Artist who loved nature

COOKHAM painter Stanley Spencer was influenced by what he saw in the natural world around him, taking an interest in the tiny details and particulars.

According to one review, he painted nettles and grasses “leaf by leaf, blade by blade”.

From tentative drawings done as a child to later landscapes, the theme of nature runs through Spencer’s paintings.

The Stanley Spencer Gallery in High Street, Cookham, will show an exhibition of these works from Wednesday, March 30 to Sunday, October 30.

Delight in Nature: Stanley Spencer’s World reveals how nature informed Spencer’s figurative work as an intrinsic part of his visionary narratives.

Paintings on display will include loans such as The Dustbin, from the Royal Academy of Arts, Bluebells, Cornflowers and Rhododendrons, from British Council Collections, and Magnolias, The Cultivator and Cookham Rise: Cottages, all from private collections.