Francis Spear (1902 - 1979)

Discarded shoes, circa 1925

£475

SKU: 5758
Etching on paper

Size:
Height – 10.2cm
Width – 13.5cm

6 in stock

DESCRIPTION

Provenance:
Simon Spear, the artist’s son
Presentation:
framed

Literature: Llewellyn, Sacha, and Paul Liss. Portrait of an Artist. Liss Llewellyn, 2021, p.47.

Francis Howard Spear (1902-1979) was a printmaker and a stained glass artist who attended the Royal College of Art with Bawden, Ravilious in the mid 1920’s and later went onto teach at the School.

The V&A holds examples of his stained glass and a number of designs for stained glass, and his coloured lithographic print Horse Race.

Spear enjoyed finding the beauty in everyday object and everyday scenes.  Haystacks were a frequent motif in Spear’s outdoor compositions – so much so that his friends called him ‘Haystacks Spear’.

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THE ARTIST

Francis Spear
Francis
Spear
1902 - 1979

Francis Howard Spear was born on 22nd December 1902 in South Norwood, south London.

He attended the LCC School of Arts and Crafts (which became the Central School of Arts and Design), he successfully passed Parts 1 and 2 of the Board of Education’s Examination in Industrial Design, specialising in stained glass in 1923.
While studying at the Central School in 1922, he became pupil-assistant to Martin Travers, the leading English practitioner of stained glass.

Spear won a National Scholarship to the Royal College of Art in 1923, with a chosen specialism stained glass.

Francis Spear is an important, though not now well-know, figure in twentieth century English stained glass. His working career covers 50 years, from 1922 when he began working with Martin Travers, to 1972, when he ceased teaching at Reigate School of Art. Spear taught John Piper lithography.

During his career, he designed some notable windows, and a short list would include his earliest window, at Warwick School (1925), St. Olave’s in the City (1929), Snaith (1936), Beckenham (1948), Canterbury (1949), Glasgow Cathedral (1951, 1953, 1958), Highbury (1955), Westgate (1960) and Penarth (1962).

MORE PICTURES BY ARTIST

SKU: 9211
Francis Spear (1902 - 1979)
Horse Race, 1934
£1,800
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Francis Spear (1902 - 1979)
Poster The Insect Play, The Strand Theatre, circa 1926
SKU: 8029
Francis Spear (1902 - 1979)
Self Portrait, Sketching
£975
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Francis Spear (1902 - 1979)
Self-portrait with Round Spectacles
SKU: 7965
Francis Spear (1902 - 1979)
Saint Michael Killing Satan
£2,500
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Francis Spear (1902 - 1979)
Self-portrait in a Large Brimmed Black Hat, c.1930
SKU: 7056
Francis Spear (1902 - 1979)
Martyr Soldier, 1941
£3,750
SKU: 7057
Francis Spear (1902 - 1979)
St. George and the Dragon, 1941
£5,750
SKU: 7054
Francis Spear (1902 - 1979)
Christ Derided, Nov 1942
£4,750
SKU: 6610
Francis Spear (1902 - 1979)
Design for Stained Glass Window, 1932
£3,750
SKU: 5887
Francis Spear (1902 - 1979)
The artist’s Mother sewing
£1,070
SKU: 5788
Francis Spear (1902 - 1979)
The Artist’s Boots, 1932
£1,850
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Francis Spear (1902 - 1979)
Discarded shoes, circa 1925
£475
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Francis Spear (1902 - 1979)
RCA Sketch ‘The Little Manor Farm’
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Francis Spear (1902 - 1979)
Woman scrubbing doorstep, 1924