Lot Essay
The present work was probably made as a study for 'Welders' from the 'Shipbuilding on the Clyde' series of 1940-46. Spencer executed drawings on the spot in the shipyards and stored them for future use in the paintings; he frequently gave them away to the sitters however. Women were permitted to work in the shipyards for the duration of the war in order to make up for the shortage in available manpower. (see K. Bell, Stanley Spencer, R.A., Royal Academy Exhibition Catalogue, 1980, p.193).