Portraits of High Sheriffs; in conversation with three artists For those who are not familiar with it, the office of High Sheriff dates back to the 10th century with the height of its significance under the Norman kings. Nowadays, the role of High Sheriff is an independent, non-political, Royal appointment. Whilst the High Sheriff’s…
In the spirit of gift-giving and Christmas, we spoke to Lee Fraser who recently commissioned a portrait for his partner, Sage, ahead of her birthday. The portrait is of a pair of trainers. Lee commissioned Andrew James to create the piece. It was a wholly collaborative and exciting process; giving someone the gift of…
. Commissioning a portrait is a special experience. It is surprisingly easy and very enjoyable. ‘Seeing a likeness of somebody you love so much, created for you…you have that to cherish…I love it! The portrait was commissioned by Jessica’s Mother, Anna who had been thinking about it for a while but was struggling…
Mortality and the importance of family lie behind this portrait by Simon Davis It was the death of a parent that gave birth to this work of art. It drew the Almeida-Hall family’s attention to the importance of family, and to their own mortality. There was a second layer to this commission. Being a same-sex…
“We wanted to give something with some permanence to celebrate the marriage and also something that they wouldn’t get for themselves,” explains Robin who commissioned this portrait for his son and daughter-in-law-to-be as a wedding present. Having never commissioned a portrait before, he initially felt daunted by the wide range of possibilities but found the…
When given some money for his birthday, Michel thought that the most enjoyable and lasting way of spending it would be to commission a portrait. As somebody who particularly enjoys the work of the Surrealists, a portrait ‘after Magritte’ seemed the thing. Michel used this website to select and contact David Cobley to paint it.…
Cressida Dick was surprised by the strength of feeling that there was in favour of having a portrait commissioned, but understood its importance so paid for it out of her own salary commenting that it is ‘an important part of the 100 years celebrations, symbolising the nature of the current Met and, maybe more importantly,…
This commission for Benjamin Sullivan celebrates the RAF Club’s 100th Anniversary. He has been working on it since February 2018. The portrait includes a number of personal links between Benjamin and this commission. If you look in the background you will see a Spitfire – ‘S’ for ‘Strike’ – from 253 Squadron from which the artist’s grandfather,…
