The Old Hay Rake (alt. title: The Barn)

If this is the watercolour and pencil drawing exhibited at Reading 1964 (65), which the subject matter implies, it was painted at Burdens Farm, Twyford, the Dorset cottage where Spencer and his wife Ursula spent many summers from 1932 onwards. It shows his continuing fascination with farm machinery, which had begun in his childhood.

Date: c. 1932
Inscriptions: lr: Gilbert Spencer
Tags: Agricultural, Pencil, Watercolour, Works on paper
Medium: Pencil and watercolour on paper
Height (mm): 345
Width (mm): 510
Location: Private collection
Exhibition History: Probably The Goupil Gallery, London, Summer Salon June 1934 (37); probably Reading 1964 (65)
Provenance: With The Redfern Gallery, London, from whom acquired by Lord Clwyd, 22 February 1963; private collection, UK; Lyon and Turnbull, 1 November 2024 lot 227