The Ten Commandments: Joseph and Potiphar's Wife (Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery), 1st version

This is one of a set of ten oil paintings based on Spencer’s illustrations for The Ten Commandments, commissioned by Robert Gathorne-Hardy in 1927 and published by the Mill House Press in 1934. The paintings were exhibited at the Leicester Galleries in February 1939. A proof copy of the corresponding lithograph is annotated ‘Painted Feb 1938 in studio/Original drawing W Evill/Painted December 1947 14" x 12" in reverse. Lr: ?Colen destroyed it in ?infation of Dec 1947’. Spencer painted a third version, also in reverse, in 1952 (Museum of Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, NZ). The scene represents Genesis 39:7-20, in which the wife of Potiphar, the captain of the pharaoh's guard, attempts to seduce Joseph.

Date: 1938
Tags: Biblical, Oil Paintings
Medium: Oil on canvas
Location: Unknown, possibly destroyed
Exhibition History: Leicester Galleries 1939 (16)