2008/93

Portrait of a Country Girl,

Oil on canvas; ‘Portrait of a Country Girl', 1940s. Painted by Steven Spurrier, a prolific artist of the mid-20th C. who exhibited at the RA.
This oil on canvas, titled ‘Portrait of a Country Girl, was painted in the 1940s and depicts a ruddy-faced girl standing in front of a brick wall. She is wearing a yellow hat and blue scarf and holding a small flower in her hand. It was painted by Steven Spurrier, a prolific commercial artist of the mid-twentieth century who frequently exhibited at the Royal Academy.

painting: oil on canvas; wooden frame; good condition

MERL OLIB database note – ‘The pictorial map that accompanied Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons when it was first published in 1930 was drawn by Steven Spurrier (1878-1961). He was also commissioned to provide illustrations throughout the book but they didn’t match what Ransome had in mind and were never used. They are now in the collections of the Brotherton Library in Leeds. Ransome's adventure story drew upon his own childhood memories of holidays by Coniston Water in the Lake District. Spurrier was a prolific commercial artist in the decades on either side of the Second World War with the Illustrated London News in particular using a lot of his work. He also exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1913 and was elected RBA in 1933 and RA in 1952. Born in London, Spurrier was imbued with that urban vision of the vitality of the rural outdoors.’, Collecting 20thc Rural Culture blog [Monday, 24 November 2008] – ‘Steven Spurrier // The pictorial map that accompanied Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons when it was first published in 1930 was drawn by Steven Spurrier (1878–1961). He was also commissioned to provide illustrations throughout the book but they didn’t match what Ransome had in mind and were never used. They are now in the collections of the Brotherton Library in Leeds. Ransome's adventure story drew upon his own childhood memories of holidays by Coniston Water in the Lake District. // Spurrier was a prolific commercial artist in the decades on either side of the Second World War with the Illustrated London News in particular using a lot of his work. He also exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1913 and was elected RBA in 1933 and RA in 1952. Born in London, Spurrier was imbued with that urban vision of the vitality of the rural outdoors, as indicated in the holiday poster below. // Spurrier’s style captured perfectly the mood of the day. This oil painting of his from the 1940s, Portrait of a Country Girl, with its ruddy-cheeked references to a healthy and wholesome rural life, is part of this project.

1940-01-01 - 1949-12-31

1940s

Spurrier, Steven (Artist)