Spencelayh’s early life as a painter of miniatures may explain the intense realism and intricate detail in his work, shown in the 153/4 by 113/4in (40 x 29.5cm) work and the Victorian sentimentality of the work is typical.
Depicting an elderly gentleman sitting in a rather dilapidated room looking at a picture of his mother – a box of her belongings sits on the floor – the canvas was signed and inscribed with the artist’s name, address and title on two labels to the reverse.
After fierce competition Mother brought an above-estimate £67,850 by an anonymous buyer, who then went on to take the following lot, another Spencelayh entitled Love Birds, an oil on panel indistinctly inscribed to a label on the reverse. At 111/2 by 151/2in (29 x 39cm), this work was smaller in scale than Mother however all the familiar characteristics of Spencelayh were in evidence. Again intensely realistic, this rather intimate interior scene of an elderly gentleman watching his wife tend to two caged birds took a winning bid of £63,250.
Spencelayh leads a gold mine’s motherlode
UK: A COUPLE of weeks ago the Antiques Trade Gazette recorded the sale of the Joe Marshall Collection which put an extra sheen on the January sales at Sotheby’s South (15/10 per cent buyer’s premium). Among the goldmine of antiques veteran dealer Mr Marshall had shown Billingshurst chairman Tim Wonnacott in 1996, in a secret vault at his Blackburn shop, were a couple of oils by Charles Spencelayh R.M.S. (1865-1958) one of which was Mother shown here, which led the sale.
