Article: Spencer art finds the miraculous in ordinary things.(Arts)(Art)

At the exact hour that British painter Stanley Spencer was born, a rook flew down the chimney of his parents' Cookham village home and flapped around the living room. Spencer, whose first U.S. retrospective opened Thursday at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, later claimed the rook's arrival - along with his own on June 30, 1891 - as a good omen.

The artist's predilection for finding the miraculous in everyday events such as these in the ordinary village of Cookham, on the Thames some 30 miles from London, shows a sensitivity that allies him with previous English visionary artists such as William Blake and Henry Fuseli. In fact, the passion with ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

 
 
Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!