DescriptionOil on canvas, 1936. This is the garden at ‘Fernlea’, Spencer’s childhood home in Cookham. The women depicted are Annie, Spencer’s sister, and a cousin, and tulips are being gifted. But whilst this is a specific memory for Spencer, it has wider relevance. Spencer might have used his relatives’ names, but instead he calls the painting ‘Neighbours’. In so doing he invites the viewer to see the painting as depicting more than a specific instance in his memory: it becomes about universal neighbourliness, and universal gift giving. And as such, is one of Spencer’s most loved works.
