William Wycliffe Spooner (1882–1967) was an industrialist who used his wealth to build up a significant collection of watercolours towards the end of his life. This he achieved with the aid of his second wife, Mercie Winifred Spooner, née Sanderson (1902–90), who had run the Squire Gallery in London (Mercie had previously been married to Horace Bernard Milling (1898–1953)). Spooner bequeathed the bulk of his collection of British watercolours to the Courtauld Institute of Art, amongst which were four works by Girtin, including A Farmyard with Barns, Ladder and Figures (TG1658a) and The West Front of Peterborough Cathedral (TG1019).

1800

A Farmyard with Barns, Ladder and Figures; A Sky Study

TG1658a

(?) 1794

The West Front of Peterborough Cathedral

TG1019