Portrait unveiled

Royal artist makes Marlborough History

On Tuesday, 11 March Dame Sarah Troughton DCVO, HM Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire unveiled what is believed to be the first portrait of a fully robed Mayor of Marlborough wearing the full insignia since the town received its first charter in 1204. Seeing the portrait for the first time at the event, the Lord Lieutenant described it as “sensitive, touching and beautiful”.

The portrait of Councillor Nicholas Fogg MBE FRSA was painted by portrait artist Rupert Alexander and shows Councillor Fogg during his Mayoral year in 2023-2024.

Councillor Fogg is in esteemed company: previous sitters include Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and King Charles III (when Prince of Wales).

Nicholas Fogg has been elected Town Mayor of Marlborough three times. As well as founding the town’s jazz and literature festivals, Councillor Fogg appointed an artist-in-residence each time he served as Mayor. The first was noted wildlife artist Bryan Hanlon; the second, legendary Scottish artist and mainstay of the Edinburgh Festival, Richard Demarco and the third, Rupert Alexander.

‘I regard Rupert as the outstanding portraitist of his generation’, Councillor Fogg said. ‘In accepting the position of artist-in-residence, he has played an important role in raising the profile of the arts in the town.’

‘I was surprised to learn that I have created the first-known portrait of a Mayor of this historic borough in all his insignia’, said Rupert Alexander. ‘It was a particular pleasure to commemorate such a warm-hearted soul as Nick.’ Sadly, Rupert was unable to attend the event in person but was represented by his mother, Olivia Dunlap.

The portrait of Councillor Fogg is only the second portrait of a Marlborough Mayor that we know about in 820 years.

Artists in Residence

Rupert Alexander

https://www.rupertalexander.com/
Rupert Alexander is one of the UK’s foremost portrait painters. Born and raised in London, he studied at Chelsea College of Art, the Florence Academy of Art and Charles H. Cecil Studios.

He has painted the portraits of many prominent figures in Britain, and when, at the age of 23, he painted HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and HRH The Prince of Wales for the Royal Warrant Holders Association he became the youngest artist to paint the British Royal Family since the 18th Century. His portrait of the Queen, in particular, garnered widespread press attention and critical acclaim, as did his portrait of the eminent mathematician Sir Andrew Wiles, which was unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery, London, in 2015. His work hangs in public and private collections worldwide.

He maintains a studio in London and another in Wiltshire, where he lives with his daughter.

Bryan Hanlon

https://www.forestgallery.com/bryan-hanlon/
Bryan Hanlon lives and works in rural Wiltshire, surrounded by the type of environment that has inspired his work.

Bryan is widely regarded as one of the UK’s leading artists, having enjoyed many successful exhibitions around the world, including Nature in Art, Gloucester, The Tryon and Swann, London, and the prestigious ‘Birds in Art’ exhibition in Wisconsin, America.

Richard Demarco

https://www.demarcoarchive.com/richard-demarco
Richard Demarco (born in Edinburgh, 1930) is an artist and promoter of the visual and performing arts.

He has been one of Scotland’s most influential advocates for contemporary art through his work at the Richard Demarco Gallery and the Demarco European Art Foundation, as well as his professorship at Kingston University in London.

His contributions to contemporary art internationally have been recognised on numerous occasions, receiving the Polish Gold Order of Merit, the Cavaliere della Repubblica d’Italia, the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres de France and the Order of the British Empire.