This autumn, the Stanley Spencer Gallery invites visitors to witness the scientific analysis of a work of art in real time. For the first time in two decades, Stanley Spencer’s monumental unfinished painting, Christ Preaching at Cookham Regatta, will be brought down from its elevated wall position in the gallery and displayed at eye level.

Throughout the exhibition, a conservator will be working live in the gallery, carefully examining the painting. As they study Spencer’s brushwork, pigments, and materials, visitors will gain fascinating insights into the artist’s technique — including how he transferred his meticulously planned sketches onto the canvas. These investigations not only inform how best to care for the painting, but also offer a deeper understanding of Spencer’s creative process.

As an unfinished work, Christ Preaching at Cookham Regatta is a unique window into Spencer’s practice — a painting frozen mid-creation. You can trace how he filled in the composition section by section, a method he learned as a student at the Slade School of Fine Art. This structured, almost fresco-like approach was inspired by Renaissance artists and became a hallmark of his career.

Spencer began exploring the idea for this composition as early as the 1920s, but it wasn’t until 1951 that the vision fully took shape. Over Christmas that year, he began drawing late into the night, gradually mapping out his ambitious concept. The sheer scale of the painting required hundreds of preparatory drawings — in pencil, red, brown, or blue crayon — sketched on everything from quality art paper to humble sheets of butter paper.

Working in the cramped upstairs bedroom of his home at Cliveden View in Cookham Rise, Spencer faced constant interruptions from curious visitors. Perched precariously on a stool atop a trestle table, he worked close to the surface, with only a small section of the enormous canvas unrolled at a time — never able to see the entire composition at once.

This exhibition builds on our summer display, which explored the spiritual themes of Christ Preaching and the importance of the Cookham Regatta in Spencer’s personal and communal vision. Now, we turn our attention to his studio practice — from early student sketches to the bold experiments of his later years — and how these drawing habits shaped one of his most ambitious canvases.

Amanda Bradley Petitgas Trustee, Chair Exhibitions Committee