Stanley Spencer and the Magnolia Tree

Cookham was the birthplace of Stanley Spencer, regarded by many as the leading British artist of the 20th Century. When studying at the Slade School of Art he was nicknamed by fellow students as “Cookham”.

He was an associate member of the Odney Club and often took part in events organised by the Sabeema art group at the Club. He painted several paintings at the club, most famously ‘Landscape with Magnolia, 1938’.

During a visit to the National Gallery of Canada a Manager from our hotel at Ambleside spotted the painting. On her return, she visited Odney and found that comparisons between the painting and actual view had changed very little, except that a wrought-iron sunburst above the gate in the painting had gone. It has since been recovered from obscurity by Odney’s Head Gardener and restored to its original position between the brick piers.

For your next stop, walk towards the entrance gate where you will find the Sir Bernard Miller Centre