Sir Allan Davis, Former Lord Mayor of London

It is still usual for Livery Companies and other City institutions to commission portraits, and this one was commissioned by the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers.

I was introduced to Sir Allan by the former Lord Mayor of London, Sir Ralph Perring Bt. The sittings took place at the historic Mansion House amidst the splendours of the Grand Saloon, during Sir Allan’s mayoral year.

When the portrait was finished, Sir Allan held a celebratory dinner to which Terry Waite was also invited, just one week before he embarked upon his ill-fated mission to Beirut on behalf of the then Archbishop of Canterbury.