£1,063
Auction: DESIGN Since 1860
painted and gilded wood, inscribed GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS
Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist circa 1923-4 for either 45 guineas or 49 guineas and thence by direct descent. A hand-written letter provides further information about the purchase of the crucifix and that it was exhibited at an earlier unspecified ‘Art Workers’ Exhibition.
Note: Minnie Dibdin Davison Spooner, painter, miniaturist and designer, is perhaps best known for her book illustrations - in particular for The Golden Staircase: Poems and Verses for Children selected by Louey Chisholm, 1906. In July 1900 she married Charles Sydney Spooner, architect, teacher and art metalwork designer. They worked together on many projects as co-designers, including St Christopher’s Church, Haslemere, Surrey (1902-4) where Minnie painted the large-scale reredos. Their close friends included C F A Voysey, and Spooner had professional connections with Henry Wilson and Fred Rowntree amongst others. He exhibited regularly with the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society and the Art Workers Guild.