Provenance: the artist’s estate
In 1930 Stroudley became the first Abbey Scholar, which entitled him to
a period of study at the British School in Rome. The fruits of his time
in Rome was an arched-top painting measuring over 66 x 110 inches,
depicting male athletes competing in a variety of sporting activities.
His compositions from his Rome period are among the last wholly
successful decorative cycles produced by a Rome Scholar prior to World
War II. His drawings from the period are technically brilliant and bear
comparison with those of Eric Kennington. During the post-war era he
moved increasingly towards abstraction.