Partridge Fine Arts Exhibition

Partridge Fine Arts Main Gallery featuring Richard Stone's exhibition in November 2004I was delighted to be asked by Partridge Fine Arts to exhibit some of my more notable portraits in their handsome galleries in Bond Street, London.

With their fine furniture and antiques, Partridge was a perfect showcase not only for my more formal paintings, but also for my smaller portraits and drawings.

It was not always easy to decide which portraits to choose, but they are all representative of my work of the last thirty-five years.

The task was further complicated by the fact that some paintings and drawings left the studio, literally straight from the easel (some undoubtedly still wet), to meet deadlines for presentations and unveilings without ever having been photographed.

At the time of writing, many portraits are untraceable. Still, getting the right mix of the very grand, the less grand and the informal has been an enjoyable challenge.

In thirty years of being a portrait painter, I have been very fortunate to paint most members of the Royal Family, as well as leading members of society and the community – in short, recognisable persons. But I have also had the opportunity to paint people from all walks of life, young and old. Each is individual. It is a great privilege to be able to step, for a brief time, into the lives of others. To share stories with them, appreciate life from their point of view and put the world to rights is always fascinating. Many sitters have remained good friends.

This exhibition was, I suppose, a retrospective in that it showed the development of my work in portraiture over the last three decades. But my portraiture is continually evolving, as I am very much a working artist. No matter whom I have painted, I always look forward to my next sitter.

Richard Stone

2004