The Boatbuilder's Yard, Cookham

Sir Stanley Spencer 30/6/1891 - 14/12/1959

Summary

A surreal view of a boatbuilder's yard in the Berkshire village of Cookham, looking across a paved courtyard toward a brick wall lined with a rockery, beyond which is a yard piled high with beached riverboats, the River Thames is also visible in the background, and there is a clapboard boathouse to the far right. A rectangular aquarium containing two large goldfish is positioned in the courtyard, occupying the focal point of the painting. Spencer's visionary and unorthadox works frequently represent English subjects and locations, making recourse to the artist's own memory bank of experiences and encounters. The colours of the scene are naturalistic and seem to reflect quintessentially English weather; dark and dreary.