Portrait of Claire Seated Black & White looking back to the 1880s

looking back to the 1880s rather than the 1920s when it was probably painted

By the age of thirty she and her husband Ernst were in the centre of Parisian Café society

as if they were made for film posters

the bomb sites and perhaps most of all the Black & White film

Portrait of Claire Seated Black & White looking back to the 1880sSpear has long been an artist beyond my pocket, a Modern British painter who has a loyal and determined fan base amongst collectors and dealers alike. I was delighted to find these two portraits tucked away in a country saleroom during the first lockdown for something of a steal. Both paintings portray Claire Stafford and therein lies a story. Spear had a long and presumably happy marriage to Mary who he remained with all his life. However in the mid