Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents iii
3. Introduction: ‘The kind of artist that could only happen in England’ 1
4. 1. ‘A barrage of non-conformity’. Gilbert Spencer’s childhood in Cookham 9
5. 2. ‘As Stan had done before me’. The Slade School of Fine Art 39
6. 3. ‘That vile place’. The impact of a world at war 67
7. 4. ‘A breath of fresh air’. Leaving Cookham and the turbulent twenties 101
8. 5. ‘Verve and technical mastery’. A decade of recognition 167
9. 6. ‘Decomposing sandbags everywhere’. Another world war and its aftermath 223
10. 7. ‘The John Constable of the twentieth century’. A creative life fulfilled 271
11. Timeline 335
12. Notes 342
13. Bibliography 377
14. Acknowledgments 382
15. Picture Credits 384
16. Index 385