By: PREECE, Patricia (1894-1966)

Acq. Number: 7

Dimensions: 49.5 x 39 cm

Artwork_Medium: Oil on canvas

Purchased: 1939

Buyer: MANSON, James Bolivar

Location: Bangor University

Town: Bangor

Content: To view this work on the Art UK website click here

Notes: Born Ruby Vivian in London, Preece later changed her name to Patricia, and in 1918 commenced studies at the Slade School of Fine Art where she encountered her friend and lifelong companion, the painter Dorothy Hepworth. After a period of study together in Paris, the pair became associated with the Bloomsbury group, and in the late 1920s moved to Cookham, later moving next door to the artist Stanley Spencer. Having modelled for him and accompanied him as his translator when fulfilling commissions, in 1937 Preece married the infatuated Spencer within a week of his divorce from his first wife. Preece refused to consummate the marriage and continued to live with Hepworth however, resisting Spencer's attempts to divorce her in the 1950s. For further information on Preece and her relationships with Hepworth and Spencer, see Art UK here.