Signed l.r.: Gilbert Spencer

Oil on canvas, 35 by 46 cm

Provenance: a gift from the artist to Professor Ernest de Selincourt of Ladywood

Gilbert Spencer stayed with Ernest de Selincourt at his Lake District villa, Ladywood, at Christmas in 1942 and appears to have executed this painting during his time there. He also executed two drawings of members of de Selincourt's family in the same visit. Spencer lived in Ambleside during the Second World War following the Royal College of Art's evacuation there in the early 1940s. He was a member of the college's staff at the time.