Charles Spencelayh

 (British, 1865-1958)

English genre painter and portraitist Charles Spencelayh, son of an iron and brass founder, was born in Rochester, Kent on October 27, 1865. He began his artistic studies at the National Art Training School of South Kensington (later renamed the Royal College of Art), eventually becoming known for his Academic style. His subjects are primarily domestic scenes, portraits and still life subjects painted in near photographic detail, such as The Boot Black (oil on canvas, 1899), Old Friends (oil on canvas, 1930), and Still Life With A Rose (oil on canvas, 1945). Spencelayh was also an accomplished miniaturist, watercolor painter, and etcher.

Most of Spencelayh’s exhibits took place in Britain, although he showed at the Paris Salon. He exhibited 30 paintings at the Royal Academy throughout the course of his career, up until his death in 1958. His 1939 painting titled Why War won the Royal Academy Picture of the Year.

Notably, Spencelayh was a founding member of the Royal Society of Miniature Painters in 1897. He exhibited 129 miniature paintings between 1896 and 1954. Queen Mary was an avid collector of Spencelayh’s work, and commissioned a miniature painting of King George V for her dollhouse collection.

The accomplished artist was an honorary member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists and Vice President of the British Watercolor Society. In 2009, his masterpiece The Old Dealer sold at auction for a record $539,600 (£337,250).