Charles Spencelayh

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Spencelayh, Charles (b Rochester, Kent, 27 Oct. 1865; d Northampton, 25 June 1958). British painter. Completely resistant to any modern developments in art, Spencelayh continued the tradition of Victorian genre painting into the second half of the 20th century. He specialized in anecdotal domestic scenes, most typically showing old codgers pottering around in junk shops or other cluttered interiors. From 1892 until the year of his death he exhibited fairly regularly at the Royal Academy, a record for longevity that has rarely been exceeded. Critics generally regarded his work as trivial and outmoded, but the public liked it, voting his Why War? (Harris Mus. and AG, Preston) ‘picture of the year’ at the RA exhibition in 1939 (in wartime he often pandered to national sentiment by depicting patriotic themes or including patriotic details). He knew his market well and part of his income came from reproduction of his works on calendars, greetings cards, and so on. His son Vernon (1891–1980) painted in a similar style.