Cyril Saunders Spackman was born to a Welsh Methodist minister and an English mother in 1887 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. He immigrated to England around the turn of the century and eventually settled in Croydon. His stylistically versatile oeuvre includes paintings, drawings, etchings, woodcuts and sculptures. He exhibited widely and was a member of many artistic organisations, including the Royal Society of British Artists, Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers, Society of Graphic Art, and the Croydon Camera Club.
Artist Cyril Saunders Spackman was born to a Welsh methodist minister and an English mother in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, in 1887. It is unconfirmed when Spackman immigrated to London and despite his Welsh-English origins he is often referred to as an American artist. However, he certainly settled in at 19 Blake Road, Croydon in the early 1920s, and he studied architecture under T. E. Lidiard James at King’s College in London, having begun his studies in Cleveland before moving. However, he never completed his architecture degree as he always wanted to be a painter.
Spackman’s oeuvre encompasses painting, etchings, woodcuts, drawings and sculpture, demonstrating a mastery of styles, ranging from expressive and experimental interpretations to avant-garde tendencies and neoclassical forms. Regardless of stylistic approach, he consistently delivers compelling renditions, easily adapting to different artistic languages. Some of his paintings, such as A Dream Garden, exhibit a Romantic and Symbolist aesthetic, characterised by lush, atmospheric landscapes, rich colour contrasts, and a dreamlike quality, reminiscent of early 20th-century stage design and decorative arts. His etchings, including Early Moon, convey a moody, tonal quality, typical of Symbolist and early 20th-century printmaking, employing chiaroscuro and delicate line work to evoke a melancholy, introspective atmosphere. Meanwhile, his watercolours reflect a post-impressionist sensibility, distinguished by soft, atmospheric shading and a nuanced interplay of light and colour, as seen in Admiring the View, while his drypoint etchings, such as A Stiff Breeze, focus on realism and precision. Regardless of medium, his landscapes often take inspiration from the Welsh countryside. His sculptural works demonstrate a diverse engagement with multiple styles, ranging from classical figuration to avant-garde abstraction. One evident tendency is a refined neoclassicism, seen in representations of the human figure, with idealised proportions and smooth, polished surfaces. Spackman also utilised a dynamic modernist vocabulary, incorporating elements of Art Deco and Symbolist aesthetics. Relief works and semi-abstract figures exhibit a stylisation of movement and form, reducing detail while emphasising rhythm and expressive line work. Certain works particularly reflect a sculptural language influenced by Cubism and Futurism, where the figure is broken down into angular planes and interlocking forms. His sculptures also include portraits of influential sitters, such as architect, Michael Theodore Waterhouse, and the Duke of Devonshire. One of Spackman's most successful neoclassical works is a 1936 sculpture entitled, Emancipation, depicting a black woman with a defiant gaze. He also created works for Ashburton Secondary Modern School (1952) and an altar screen at St Nicholas Parish Church, Grosmont, Monmouthshire.
While further research is needed to determine the full extent of Spackman’s exhibitions and the specific years in which he participated, it is known that he regularly exhibited in the UK and sometimes in Cleveland. His exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 1913, and two works, Crickhowell Bridge and A Dream Garden, at the Royal Institute of British Artists’ Autumn Exhibition of 1919. He was also a member of various associations and societies, including the Royal Society of British Artists, the Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers, Society of Graphic Art, Croydon Camera Club (where he was vice-president for a time) and the Writers’ Circle. Spackman also held several other roles, serving as chair of the Croydon University Extension Committee and Honorary Vice-President of the Croydon Symphony Orchestra.
In 1922, Spackman married to the piano and violin teacher, Ada Spackman, and the couple had two children, Ralph and Joan. They first lived on Addiscombe Road and then at No 1 Edridge Road in Croydon where Spackman also had a large studio. With more space to create, he also started carving and often worked with slabs of Derbyshire limestone and alabaster. The studio also served as a hub for local creatives and as the meeting space of the Croydon Camera Club for over 30 years and then for the Croydon Writers’ Circle. Like his father-in-law, Richard Sadler, Spackman was a committed Freemason and, in 1919, he won a £75 competition to design a commemorative jewel for the Masonic Memorial Million Fund, honouring masons who died in the Great War. This Hall Stone design was later reproduced as cloth badges and medals. In the late 1930s, Spackman and Sadler established a new Masonic lodge, the Beaux Arts Lodge No. 5707, holding meetings in Spackman’s studio. Cyril Saunders Spackman died in London, England in 1963. His works are held in several public collections in the UK, including the British Museum, Royal Institute of British Architects, and the National Museum Cardiff.
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