Unity Spencer

Unity Spencer (24 May 1930 – 18 October 2017) was a British artist. She was the daughter of artists Stanley Spencer and Hilda Carline.

Unity Spencer
Born24 May 1930
Hampstead, London, England
Died18 October 2017
NationalityBritish
OccupationArtist
Partner(s)Leslie Lambert
Children1
Parent(s)Stanley Spencer
Hilda Carline

Early life

Unity Spencer was born on 24 May 1930 in Hampstead, London, the second daughter of Stanley Spencer and his wife Hilda Carline, both artists.[1] She was educated at Badminton School, Wimbledon School of Art and the Slade School of Fine Art.[1] Following the break-up of the Spencers' marriage by the mid-1930s, Unity lived with her mother, while her elder sister, Shirin, was sent to live with a relative, and the sisters grew up apart.[2]

Career

She had one-person shows at Lauderdale House in Highgate in 1993, the Boundary Gallery in St John's Wood in 2001, and the Fine Art Society in Bond Street in 2015.[1]

Personal life

In 1961, she met Leslie Lambert (died 1971), and they had a son in 1963, but never married.[1]

In the last eighteen months of her life, she moved to live in Cowbridge, south Wales, with her son John and sister Shirin Spencer.[3] A BBC documentary, Stanley and His Daughters, shown after Unity's death, included interviews with both sisters in which they talked about their childhood and the decision to move in together.[4]

She died of kidney failure on 18 October 2017.[1][3] She was buried in Cookham, Berkshire, close to her mother.[3]

References
  1. Lambirth, Andrew (23 November 2017). "Unity Spencer obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 December 2017 – via www.theguardian.com.
  2. Michael Hodges (4 February 2018). "Why Stanley Spencer tore apart his family for a lesbian muse". Radio Times.
  3. Will Taylor (11 November 2017). "Stanley Spencer's daughter, Unity, laid to rest in Cookham". Madenhead Advertiser. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  4. Suzi Feay (2 February 2018). "Stanley and His Daughters, BBC4 — the colourful life of Stanley Spencer". Financial Times. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
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