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Live conservation reveals hidden surprises of unfinished Spencer painting

A new exhibition at the Stanley Spencer Gallery in Cookham, titled *Revealing Genius, Conserving Art: Stanley Spencer’s Final Masterpiece*, offers visitors a rare chance to watch conservator Olivia Leake work on Spencer’s unfinished painting *Christ Preaching at Cookham Regatta*. The large canvas, which Spencer labored over for over a decade but left incomplete at his death in 1959, has been lowered from its usual high hanging for live conservation. Using UV light and paint analysis, Leake has discovered surprising details: extremely thin paint layers, a green water area later overpainted in blue, and multiple changes to underdrawings—contradicting anecdotes that Spencer never altered his initial drawings.

museum exhibitions schedule Nov 19, 2025 visibility 1 link 1 artist

Live conservation reveals hidden surprises of unfinished Spencer painting

A new exhibition at the Stanley Spencer Gallery in Cookham, titled *Revealing Genius, Conserving Art: Stanley Spencer’s Final Masterpiece*, features the unfinished painting *Christ Preaching at Cookham Regatta* (c. 1950s). The large canvas, which Spencer worked on for over a decade and left incomplete at his death in 1959, has been lowered from its high hanging position so that conservation student Olivia Leake of the Courtauld Institute can study it up close. Using UV light and paint analysis, Leake has discovered that Spencer used extremely thin paint layers, made multiple changes to underdrawings (contradicting his own statements), and overpainted a green water area with blue. She is also investigating a possible mold stain in the top left corner.

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