Study for Silent Prayer, 1951 (recto)

The oil painting Silent Prayer, (Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford), 1951, (Bell 361) was inspired by some flowers that he had been given by his sister, Florence (Image) and set in the context of a Christian Science Reading Room. Hilda, who had died the year before, in 1950, is depicted twice in the oil; once in the reflection of the vase in the centre and again in the upper left area of the painting.

This lot also includes a squared-up pencil study for the oil At the Piano, (Private Collection), 1957-58, (Bell 434), which represents Daphne Charlton, a lover, juxtaposed with Spencer's father by a grand piano taken from the artist's childhood.