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An oil painting of the Bishop of Worcester, the Rt Revd Dr Peter Selby, was unveiled today as the official portrait during his time in office. Painted by Jane Allison, the portrait will hang in the Old Palace, Worcester. The Bishop is pictured in the Crypt of Worcester Cathedral and is wearing a stole, cope and mitre made specifically for him by embroiderer Judith Peacock.
It is traditional for Bishops to have their portrait painted as a permanent reminder of their time in office. Bishop Peter is the 112th Bishop of Worcester and the decision to commission the portrait was made jointly with the Executive Committee of the Diocesan Resources Board.
Bishop Peter comments: “The thought of having my portrait painted was quite strange and the choice of artist, location and my clothing were all decisions I explored with a great deal of thought. I am grateful to Jane for ensuring it was a pleasurable experience and for taking the time to understand the office and the person holding it. The overall result is a testimony to her patience and skill. I am also glad that the picture includes the remarkable vestments designed and made by Judith Peacock.”
Jane Allison studied at Chelsea School of Art and at the Slade School of Fine Art. Since leaving college in 1982 she has specialised in portraiture, exhibiting regularly with the Contemporary Portrait Society, the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters. About her portrait of Bishop Peter, she says:
“A portrait should work on many levels - first and foremost as a distillation of the sitter, then as an historical record and finally, and hopefully, as a work of art. It is also a two-way process between the artist and the sitter and in this case I was fortunate in that the Bishop's input was invaluable - and not only in the giving of his time. I was so pleased when he told me that he wanted to use the Crypt of the Cathedral as a setting as it has always seemed to me to be the heart of the Cathedral, whilst his decision to be painted wearing the wonderful red and gold cope and mitre made by Judith Peacock was, as far as I was concerned, just perfect, as it is a rare treat for a contemporary portrait painter to paint such beautiful fabric. I very much hope people like the resulting portrait.”
The portrait is a metre wide and just under 1.3 metres tall.
ENDS.
The Diocese of Worcester is one of 44 dioceses in the Church of England. It covers an area of 671 square miles and includes parishes in the County of Worcestershire, the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, and a few parishes in northern Gloucestershire, south east Wolverhampton and Sandwell.
