Stanley Spencer at Pallant House Gallery

In what is being hailed as a '˜once-in-a-lifetime' exhibition, Pallant House Gallery is playing host to the works of renowned British wartime artist, Stanley Spencer.
By The Newsroom
Published 15th Feb 2014, 08:00 BST
Updated 7th Jun 2018, 20:47 BST
TEA IN THE HOSPITAL WARD by Stanley Spencer (1891- 1959) on the south wall at Sandham Memorial Chapel, Burghclere, Hampshire. Artist's work in copyright - further permission requiredTEA IN THE HOSPITAL WARD by Stanley Spencer (1891- 1959) on the south wall at Sandham Memorial Chapel, Burghclere, Hampshire. Artist's work in copyright - further permission required
TEA IN THE HOSPITAL WARD by Stanley Spencer (1891- 1959) on the south wall at Sandham Memorial Chapel, Burghclere, Hampshire. Artist's work in copyright - further permission required

Spencer’s celebrated murals based on his experiences of the first world war – which have drawn praise as ‘Britain’s answer to the Sistine Chapel’ – will go on display from today (Saturday, February 15), until June.

This may be the last time the works leave their home at the Sandham Memorial Chapel in Hampshire.

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To mark the centenary year of the outbreak of the first world war, the exhibition: Stanley Spencer: Heaven in a Hell of War features a series of large-scale canvas panels from one of the most original and acclaimed British painters of the 20th century.

TEA IN THE HOSPITAL WARD by Stanley Spencer (1891- 1959) on the south wall at Sandham Memorial Chapel, Burghclere, Hampshire. Artist's work in copyright - further permission requiredTEA IN THE HOSPITAL WARD by Stanley Spencer (1891- 1959) on the south wall at Sandham Memorial Chapel, Burghclere, Hampshire. Artist's work in copyright - further permission required
TEA IN THE HOSPITAL WARD by Stanley Spencer (1891- 1959) on the south wall at Sandham Memorial Chapel, Burghclere, Hampshire. Artist's work in copyright - further permission required

Assistant curator of pictures and sculpture at the National Trust, Amanda Bradley, is thrilled to be giving people this once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the works in Chichester.

“This exhibition has just left Somerset House, London, and the main core is 16 canvases originally hung in the chapel,” she said.

“We have taken this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see them.

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“Conservation work is currently being done on the chapel and these pieces have only been to London and Chichester. I doubt this art will ever travel again.”

Detail from ABLUTIONS by Stanley Spencer (1891- 1959) on the north wall at Sandham Memorial Chapel, Burghclere, Hampshire. Artist's work in copyright - further permission requiredDetail from ABLUTIONS by Stanley Spencer (1891- 1959) on the north wall at Sandham Memorial Chapel, Burghclere, Hampshire. Artist's work in copyright - further permission required
Detail from ABLUTIONS by Stanley Spencer (1891- 1959) on the north wall at Sandham Memorial Chapel, Burghclere, Hampshire. Artist's work in copyright - further permission required

The paintings were completed in 1932 and have been permanently housed at Sandham Memorial Chapel, now in the care of the National Trust.

While the chapel undergoes major conservation work, the temporary relocation of the paintings to Pallant House offers a unique opportunity to see the murals in a gallery setting alongside works by many of Spencer’s contemporaries who are represented in the gallery’s extensive collection of modern British art.

Stanley Spencer: Heaven in a Hell of War will be on exhibition at the Pallant House Gallery from February 15 to June 15, Tuesday
to Saturday, from 10am–5pm.

9 North Pallant

Chichester

West Sussex

PO19 1TJ

01243 774557

www.pallant.org.uk

Related topics:Pallant House GalleryNational Trust