Stanley Spencer Gallery
The Stanley Spencer Gallery is an art museum in the South of England dedicated to the life and work of the artist Stanley Spencer. It was opened in 1962 and is located in the Thameside village of Cookham, Berkshire where the artist was born and spent much of his life. The gallery's collection comprises over 100 paintings and drawings, which includes a number of long-term loans. Exhibitions are mounted on a regular basis and include loans from other public institutions and public collections. The history Cookham was very important to Stanley Spencer, he called it ‘a Village in Heaven’ and it was an endless source of artistic inspiration throughout his life. After his death in 1959 friends and patrons determined to find a permanent home within the village in which to display paintings and drawings that would serve as a memorial to the artist. Those involved in the project included Joan George, who lived for a time in the artist's former house Fernlea and became the first honorary secretary; Gerard Shiel, a solicitor and local collector of Spencer's works; Donald Rademacher, a former director of the John Lewis Partnership; and the Rev Michael Westropp, vicar of Cookham who had extended