Country Houses Foundation

Earl and Countess of Shaftesbury

Posted on in Editorial photography, Portrait photography

Portrait of the Earl and Countess of Shaftesbury

This portrait commission for Country Life Magazine, accompanied an article in the issue on 22nd November 2017 about the Country House Foundation which offers grants to help the preservation of buildings of historical or architectural significance.   Indeed, this charitable foundation has helped the Nick Ashley Cooper, the 12th Earl of Shaftesbury, restore the St Giles House Estate, Wimborne St Giles, back to its former glory.  The earl explained:  “During the restoration, we wanted to showcase one room in its unrestored state.  The Great Dining room seemed the perfect space to do that, with its bare brick walls and layers of history.”

My aim was create an informal portrait from an angle which best displayed these ‘layers of history’, with particular focus on the juxtaposition between the bare brick and remaining plaster.    What you can’t see are the two new layers of history on the carpet where Hettie (taking pride of place on the chair) was sick when she came in!