A lost painting of an iconic York citizen has been saved for the city by a fundraising campaign.
Now the portrait of Elizabeth Clifford, the financier of Fairfax House, has gone on display at the historic venue.
The existence of this portrait had been known about for many years, but its location was lost.
Research undertaken at Fairfax House by collections manager Rachel Wallis revealed that the portrait was in danger of being sold into a private collection, and potentially internationally exported.
Fairfax House then launched a campaign to raise enough funds to buy the painting.
The campaign was successful, after raising £14,500 and supported by the Art Fund, the Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, as well as generous donations from the public.
The portrait went on public display on Friday, to coincide with York’s new Georgian Festival. It has been attributed to Sir Godfrey Kneller.
Sarah Burnage, curator at Fairfax House said, “We are so grateful that we were able to save this portrait from going into private collection, and are instead able to display it – especially given its significance to the house’s history.”
Elizabeth Clifford, a wealthy woman in her own right, married Charles Gregory Fairfax in November 1720. Sadly Elizabeth died just six months later from smallpox, and Charles Gregory inherited all of her money and possessions – which enabled him to stabilise the shaky Fairfax finances and purchase Fairfax House.
The museum now hopes this purchase will support its plan to reveal the stories of other women who have been forgotten by history.
Collections manager, Rachel Wallis said, “It is undeniable that Elizabeth’s wealth is the reason that we have Fairfax House as we know it today, and yet we barely know anything about her.
“We want to use this portrait to help support our plan to tell the stories of the forgotten Fairfax women – we have already started undergoing new research into Elizabeth’s life and can’t wait to share what we uncover about her.”
Children under 16 are free with a paying adult, and admission for adults is £7.50. Find out more at the Fairfax House website.
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