Ballet Scene from "On the Sands"

Spencer Gore frequented London’s music halls and theaters from an early age. The Alhambra Theatre of Varieties in Leicester Square, which boasted a lavish "oriental" interior, features in at least three of his paintings. In this work, two dancers in gypsy dress perform a scene from a comic ballet, but the focus is as much on the orchestra as it is on gaudy action of the stage. Although reminiscent of compositions by his contemporary Walter Sickert, Gore’s bright palette and use of flat, decorative patches of color, speak to his growing interest in the paintings of Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, whose work had been shown in Roger Fry’s exhibition, Manet and the Post-Impressionists, that same year.

Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2020