hilda-carline-british-1889-1950-i-tree-in-the-wind-i
Lot 71
Hilda Carline (British, 1889-1950), Tree in the Wind
Lot Details & Additional Photographs
Oil on canvas, 1920, signed and dated at lower left, retaining a gallery label to the verso, unframed.

Stretcher size 22 1/4 x 16 1/2 in.

Hilda Anne Carline (1889–1950) was a British painter, daughter of the artist George Francis Carline, and first wife of the artist Stanley Spencer. She studied art under the Post-Impressionist Percyval Tudor-Hart, with her brothers Sydney and Richard, and then at the Slade School of Art under Henry Tonks. She had a promising early start with her works being shown at the London Group, Royal Academy and New English Art Club.

In 1925 she married fellow artist Stanley Spencer with whom she had what has been described as "the most bizarre domestic soap opera in the history of British art." During the time that Carline lived with Spencer she rarely painted and it was not until they separated that she began painting more frequently. Carline's physical and mental health was poor starting several years after her divorce and after 1937 she lived with family members. Spencer became obsessed with his ex-wife with whom he corresponded and painted. In her later years she made religious works with pastels. She died in 1950, having struggled for several years with breast cancer.

A touring exhibition of Carline's works, The Art of Hilda Carline: Mrs. Stanley Spencer, was held in 1999. Most recently, in October 2022 - April 2023, an exhibition titled Those Remarkable Carlines showcasing four generations of Carline family artists was exhibited at the Burgh House in London.

Several paint flakes and an area of retouching at lower left corner, not affecting the signature.