The Soul of the Interwar Years: The Life and Art of Percy Shakespeare Percy Shakespeare (1906–1943) remains one of the most poignant figures in British art, a painter whose life and work were inextricably linked to the turbulent atmosphere of the early twentieth century. Born into a working-clss family in Kates Hill, Dudley, Shakespeare’s journey from the council housing of the Wren's Nest Estate to the prestigious halls of the Royal Academy is a testament to a raw, burgeoning talent. His early years were marked by a serendipitous encounter at the Dudley Museum and Art Gallery, which led to…