Stepney portrait bought for display at Llanelly House

Carmarthenshire Heritage Regeneration Trust has received a grant of £81,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund HLF to acquire a portrait of Sir John Stepney 8th Baronet (1741-1811) by Sir Joshua Reynolds.
Thought to have been painted by the renowned portrait artist, Sir Joshua Reynolds around 1760, the painting is to be hung in the Great Hall ready for the opening of Llanelly House, next year.
The piece is recorded in the portrait inventory of Lady Margaret Cowell-Stepney, at the Dell in Llanelli around 1900. The portrait was originally housed at Badminton, home of Sir John’s close friend and early patron the Duke of Beaufort. It is thought that the Cowell-Stepney’s acquired the portrait sometime later.
The portrait was sold by Mark Murray Threipland in 1992 – and was then catalogued as ‘circle of Reynolds’ - from its then home at Fingask Castle and has since remained in private hands.
The portrait has since been attributed to Reynolds and considered to be an important addition to the Reynolds oeuvre and our knowledge of Welsh portraiture of the period.
As well as being on display for visitors to the House the portrait’s acquisition will also play a key role in developing the next phase of the Trust’s successful Big Picture Project.
In the past the Big Picture Project has worked with children who receive learning support at schools, developing their understanding and experience of the landscape by using photography to record their experiences and create an exhibition within their local community.
‘The Big Picture; Llanelly House’ will invite children from local schools who receive learning support, and vulnerable adults, to learn about portraiture and use a variety of media to create their own portraits – including paints, photography, clay and silhouette.
The work will go on display at the House. It is hoped that the experience will help them learn more about heritage, understand more about themselves, building their confidence and self esteem.
The project will run for three years following the opening of the House and aims to work with over 90 children and 30 adults.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

'Class of 1980' from Burry Port enjoy reunion

Image
There was a big class reunion held in Burry Port at the weekend. Members of the Class of 1980 from Porth Tywyn (Burry Port junior) School got together at The Coasting Pilot pub. The reunion was organised by Christine Rees and same 22 members of the original class of 28 turn up to discuss their old schooldays. One ‘Class of 1980’ member was Burry Port businessman Owain Davies. He said: “We all have very happy memories of our time in school. We had a fantastic teacher in Mr Heddwyn Jones, who now lives in Four Roads. “We were very fortunate to have the same teacher for three years and we were a very happy class. Mr Jones was an inspiring teacher and we all got on every well and we are all still good friends. “Heather Thomas (now Heather Osmond) made it from Surrey, but she was trumped by Gail Morris, who flew in from Ohio in the United States for the reunion. “It was a fantastic evening at the Coasting Pilot with good food, good wine and good company. We even recreated the class
Read more

Glangwilli Hospital specialist wins top award from Wales Deanery

Image
A top doctor at Glangwili General Hospital has been honoured by the Wales Deanery at an event hosted by the British Medical Association (BMA) in Cardiff’s Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Dr Madhuri Kodliwadmath, Associate Specialist in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, was rewarded for her excellence in clinical service. All Welsh doctors and dentists in training were asked to nominate a consultant, GP, dentist or staff and associate specialty grade doctor, who they believed performed outstandingly. The awards are part of the ‘Supervising the Route to Excellence’ programme which aims to ensure excellence in medical training through the development and support of high quality educational, clinical supervisors and trainers throughout Wales. Dr Kodliwadmath said: “I am proud to be part of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology team in Glangwili hospital with the support of the clinical lead consultant, Dr Nicola Piskorowskyj, for the last 10 years, and I would like to thank the department and
Read more