The Little White Cross

Spenlove-Spenlove, Frank (RBA) 1868 - 1933

Summary

View of a small cottage in winter, with wooden shutters at the windows and a decorative bow on the front door, framed by two trees in a snow covered garden; a small white cross leans against the doorframe on the snow covered front step. There is a garden fence to the far right, and beyond a second cottage can be seen.

Display Label

The Little White Cross 1902 Frank Spenlove-Spenlove 1868-1933 Oil on canvas Subtitled A Winter Study in Belgium, The Little White Cross has the same setting as a painting of a funeral that Spenlove-Spenlove made in 1901, in which mourners gather round the cottage. The white cross in Belgium became such a powerful symbol of sacrificial death after the First World War that it is difficult for us now to see this melancholy scene as an Edwardian would have seen it. The transformation in magnitude of the meaning of the motif was explored by Spenlove-Spenlove, as he painted the white cross in Belgium repeatedly, before, during and after the war years. Spenlove-Spenlove began adult life as a clerk, but was encouraged to train as an artist by the great Victorian painter William Powell Frith. Although British, he chose to train in Belgium and France. Purchased 1904.5