George Spencer Watson (British, 1869–1934)Title:
Aurora
Oil on Canvas
96.5 x 187 cm. (38 x 73.6 in.)
Private collection
Aurora was the Roman goddess of the dawn. The Greeks called her Eos. She was the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia and the sister of Helios (the sun god) and Selene (the moon goddess). Every morning, Aurora arose from the sea and rode in her horse-drawn chariot across the sky ahead of the sun, carrying a pitcher from which she sprinkled dew upon the earth. More on Aurora
George Spencer Watson R.O.I., R.P., A.R.A., R.A. (8 March 1869, in London – 11 April 1934, in London) was an English portrait artist of the late romantic school who sometimes worked in the style of the Italian Renaissance.
George Spencer Watson (1869–1934)
The Birth of Venus, c. 1933
Oil on canvas
H 105.5 x W 141 cm
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Bournemouth, Dorset, England
In Roman mythology, Venus was the goddess of love, sex, beauty, and fertility. She was the Roman counterpart to the Greek Aphrodite. However, Roman Venus had many abilities beyond the Greek Aphrodite; she was a goddess of victory, fertility, and even prostitution. According to Hesiod's Theogony, Aphrodite was born of the foam from the sea after Saturn (Greek Cronus) castrated his father Uranus (Ouranus) and his blood fell to the sea. This latter explanation appears to be more a popular theory due to the countless artworks depicting Venus rising from the sea in a clam. More on The Birth of Venus
George Spencer Watson, R.A., R.W.S., R.O.I. (1869-1934)
Sketch for Apollo & Daphne
Oil on canvas
28 x 36 in. (71.2 x 91.5 cm.)
Private collection
Apollo, the god of music and the sun, taunted Eros, the god of love for playing with bows and arrows, citing his own heroic exploits in comparison with those of Eros who he accused of treating them as though they were merely play things. In retaliation, Eros shot two arrows; one of gold at Apollo to inspire love and adoration, and one of lead at Daphne, the beautiful wood nymph, to inspire hatred and loathing. Overcome with love, Apollo pursued Daphne, who hating him, spurned his advances and fled from him. The amourous god continued to follow her until, in desperation she appealed to her father Peneus, the river god, who turned her into a bay laurel tree. Despite the fact that even as a tree Daphne continued to recoil from him, Apollo vowed to tend to her branches, ensuring that she was evergreen and ordaining that her leaves would be turned into crowns to decorate the heads of leaders. Through his unsuccessful pursuit of Daphne, the bay laurel became one of the symbols of Apollo. At the Pythian Games, held in his honour in Ancient Greece, a wreath of laurels would be handed to the most successful competitor. More on this painting
George Spencer Watson, R.A., R.W.S., R.O.I. (1869-1934)
Centaurs
oil on board
36 x 44 in. (91 x 111.7 cm.)
Private collection
A centaur is a mythological creature with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a horse.
The centaurs were usually said to have been born of Ixion and Nephele (the cloud made in the image of Hera). Another version, however, makes them children of a certain Centaurus, who mated with the Magnesian mares. This Centaurus was either himself the son of Ixion and Nephele (inserting an additional generation) or of Apolloand Stilbe, daughter of the river god Peneus. In the later version of the story his twin brother was Lapithes, ancestor of the Lapiths, thus making the two warring peoples cousins. More on Centaurs
George Spencer Watson, R.A., R.W.S., R.O.I. (1860-1934)
Allegorical figures in a stream
Oil on canvas
13 x 14½ in. (33 x 36.8 cm.)
Private collection
Artemis was bathing in the woods when the hunter Actaeon stumbled across her, thus seeing her naked. He stopped and stared, amazed at her ravishing beauty. Once seen, Artemis got revenge on Actaeon: she forbade him speech — if he tried to speak, he would be changed into a stag — for the unlucky profanation of her virginity's mystery. Upon hearing the call of his hunting party, he cried out to them and immediately transformed. At this he fled deep into the woods, and doing so he came upon a pond and, seeing his reflection, groaned. His own hounds then turned upon him and pursued him, not recognizing him. In an endeavour to save himself, he raised his eyes (and would have raised his arms, had he had them) toward Mount Olympus. The gods did not heed his plea, and he was torn to pieces. Private collection
George Spencer Watson (1869–1934)
Three Wise Kings, c.1920
Oil on canvas
H 152 x W 152 cm
Touchstones Rochdale, Manchester
The biblical Magi, also referred to as the (Three) Wise Men or (Three) Kings, also the Three Magi were distinguished foreigners in the Gospel of Matthew and Christian tradition. They are said to have visited Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They are regular figures in traditional accounts of the nativity celebrations of Christmas and are an important part of Christian tradition. More on Three Wise Kings
George Spencer Watson (1869–1934)
The Creation, c. 1921
Oil on canvas
H 162 x W 142 cm
Wolverhampton Art Gallery
George Spencer Watson (1869–1934)
Nude, c. 1927
Oil on canvas
H 117 x W 81.5 cm
Harris Museum & Art Gallery, Lancashire, England
This painting was controversial when it arrived at the Harris in 1927 because it was the first painting to feature a naked woman. Some Councillors thought it would corrupt the morals of Prestonians. Watson uses Oriental-style fabrics as a background. From the 1800s, some European artists used Eastern motifs when painting women, believing it added a mysterious sensuality. More on this painting
George Spencer Watson (1869–1934)
Sunlight Nude, c. 1920s
Oil on canvas
H 125.5 x W 99.5 cm
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Bournemouth, Dorset, England
He studied at the Royal Academy Schools from 1889, and exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1891. He won Royal Academy Schools Silver Medals in 1889 and 1891, and the Landseer Scholarship in 1892. He was elected to the Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI) in 1900, Royal Society of Portrait Painters (RP) in 1904, Associate of the Royal Academy in 1923, and a Member of the Royal Academy (RA) in 1932. His work was also part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1928 Summer Olympics.
George Spencer Watson (1869–1934)
Portrait of Hilda Spencer Watson
Oil on canvas
Height: 106.7 cm (42 in); Width: 91.5 cm (36 in)
Private collection
George Spencer Watson, R.A., R.W.S., R.O.I. (1869-1934)
Portrait of Mary Spencer Watson
Oil on canvas
44 x 34 in. (101.8 x 86.4 cm.)
Private collection
George Spencer Watson, R.A., R.W.S., R.O.I. (1869-1934)
Four Loves I found, a Woman, a Child, a Horse and a Hound
Oil on canvas
56 x 77 in. (142.2 x 195.6 cm.)
Private collection
George Spencer Watson (1869–1934)
Woman in a Camisole, c. before 1932
Oil on canvas
H 91.5 x W 71.2 cm
Royal Academy of Arts, London
In 1909 he married Hilda Mary Gardiner (See above), a dancer and mime artist, and follower of the actor Edward Gordon Craig. They had a daughter, Mary Spencer Watson (1913–2006) (See above), who became a sculptor. In the year of 1923 he bought Dunshay Manor (See below) in the hills of the Isle of Purbeck, after already having spent holidays in nearby Swanage.
George Spencer Watson, R.A., R.O.I., 1869-1933
The Cottage Garden, c. 1928
Oil on canvas
76 by 102cm., 30 by 40in.
Private collection
The present work depicts Dunshay Manor, the house Watson purchased in Dorset in 1923. The coast of Dorset was a refuge and haven for the artist and his family from the pressures of London, while the house and its environs, where most of his best work was painted, became a source of inspiration.
The Cottage Garden depicts Watson’s vegetable patch attached to a cottage adjacent to Dunshay. It is easy to see from this painting how Dorset became a sanctuary for the artist and how he never tired of the undulating hills and expansive coastline. More on this painting
George Spencer Watson, R.A., R.W.S., R.O.I. (1869-1934)
The gateway, Dunshay Manor
Oil on canvas
30 x 40 in. (76.2 x 101.6 cm.)
Private collection
George Spencer Watson, R.A., R.W.S., R.O.I. (1869-1934)
Mary in the gardens, Dunshay (Drat them Goats!), c. 1926
Oil on canvas
30 x 40 in. (76.2 x 111.6 cm.
Private collection
George Spencer Watson, R.A., R.W.S., R.O.I. (1869-1934)
September morning, Dunshay Manor, Purbeck, Dorset
Oil on canvas
25 x 30 in. (63.5 x 76.2 cm.)
Private collection
He died in London and a memorial exhibition was held at the Fine Art Society in the same year. There is a memorial to him in the north vestibule of St James's Church, Piccadilly.
Some of his works are held at Tate Britain, the Harris Art Gallery, Preston and collections in Bournemouth, Liverpool, Plymouth and the National Gallery of Canada. Born in London, Watson studied at the Royal Academy from 1889; he exhibited there from 1891 and also at the Paris salon. Retrospective exhibitions were held at the Galerie Heinemann, Munich in 1912, and at the Fine Art Society in 1914. His work A Lady in Black (1922) (See below) is owned by the Tate Collection. More on George Spencer Watson
George Spencer Watson 1869–1934
A Lady in Black, c. 1922
Oil on canvas
50×40 1/2 (127×102)
Tate Collection
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