Rickett's Farm, Cookham Dene

Stanley Spencer was an English artist, renowned for depicting Biblical scenes, which he set in the village of Cookham, where he was born. He also painted landscapes.

He studied in Slade School of Fine Art in London but remained attached to Cookham for the rest of his life and drew his inspiration for most of his works from the village. Rickett's Farm, Cookham Dene is a neo romanticist painting created by Spencer in 1938, the period during which he did many landscapes out of commercial necessity despite being already awarded with a knighthood. This painting too was inspired by Cookham and showcases a farm near the village. By this time, Spencer was already established, and the painting was immediately purchased by Tate Gallery through an art gallery based in London, Arthur Tooth & Sons.

The painting is an oil on canvas painting and depicts a typical farm, probably belonging to Jim Ricketts. There is a pigsty in the foreground, with a number of piglets. The pigsty is large enough to accommodate several of the animals, showing that the farm would have been a large one. No other animals are depicted, however. There are woods in the background with a variety of different trees. A lane passes towards the woods from the pigsty. There appears to be a shed in the background just ahead of the woods by which the lane passes. There appear to be other farmlands in the horizon.

Like many of his other paintings, Rickett’s Farm, Cookham Dene is Pre-Raphaelite in style with a detailed picturization and vivid colours. The foreground is set in detail at very close range. The perspective is interesting, and it is quite obvious that the scene is seen from somewhere above the pigsty. Rickett's Farm, Cookham Dene has an idyllic quality and the colours complement this feel. The daytime depiction of this pastoral scene brings out a lot of greens, yellows, and browns. The fact that life changed quite soon after this painting was finished means that Spencer has captured the pre-war period in this painting quite poignantly. Though landscapes were not Spencer’s forte, his affection for Cookham and its scenery stands out in the painting. Currently, it is in the collection of Tate Gallery in London.