The pencil drawing is the work of artist Emma Wesley, who had her first portrait of an antiques dealer mentioned by ATG in 2004. She is the wife of Mark Sullivan, another antiques dealer, who has a shop in Cecil Court next door to Bryars & Bryars.
“Tim and I have been talking about doing a portrait for years, and the sketch is a preparatory drawing for a painting in which maps, books and other objects will feature,” Wesley says. “I’ve always loved painting people with the tools of their trade, or with objects they collect, and I think antique and antiquarian bookshops, particularly the ones in Cecil Court, are perfect expressions of their proprietors’ personalities.”
Wesley will also show a portrait of Greg Taylor, a former dealer and long-time member of the trade who has taken part in the fairs at Kempton, Covent Garden and Portobello. Her works are in the collections of institutions such as The National Portrait Gallery, The Royal Society and The Inner Temple.
The exhibition runs from May 9-24.
