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Notes
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The sitter, Madeleine Watson, saw herself as 'a kid of concrete', who grew up in New York. Her father was a lawyer, and she was named after her great grandfather's schooner, which won the America’s Cup in 1876. She had a history degree from Hollins College, and was a research assistant for Reader's Digest. She also took some postgraduate courses. She migrated to England, after marrying Simon Watson in 1971. She then worked for Harrods and became a member of the Board of Visitors of Belmarsh Prison. She lived life to the full despite suffering from congenital heart disease, surviving for 20 years longer than doctors predicted. She was never 'Lady Watson' (she died before her husband inherited his title). Sir Simon Watson describes how the painting came about:
Royal Society of Portrait Painters People's Portraits collection at Girton College, University of Cambridge
Cambridge
Title
Madeleine
Date
c.1980
Medium
oil on board
Measurements
H 84 x W 56 cm
Accession number
560
Acquisition method
on loan from the Royal Society of Portrait Painters
Work type
Painting
Royal Society of Portrait Painters People's Portraits collection at Girton College, University of Cambridge
Huntingdon Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB3 0JG England
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Sir (Victor William) Michaeil Drury, OBE, President of the Royal College of General Practitioners (1985–1988) Royal College of General Practitioners -
Dr Rex Adlington Mason (b.1926), Senior Tutor and Fellow in Old Testament at Regent's Park College (until 1990) Regent's Park College, University of Oxford -
Bernard Haitink National Portrait Gallery, London -
George Blunden (1922–2012), Deputy Governor of the Bank of England Bank of England Museum -
Madeleine Royal Society of Portrait Painters People's Portraits collection at Girton College, University of Cambridge