‘All must be safely gathered in’

Andrew Lambirth reflects on Stanley Spencer’s ‘Study for Joachim Among the Shepherds’

Stanley Spencer (1891–1959) is a rare figure of international standing among British 20th-century artists. As the painter and critic Timothy Hyman has observed, Spencer can be ranked alongside Munch, Bonnard, Kirchner, Beckmann and Guston for his extraordinary work exploring the relationship between the self and the world.