Gawd bless ya, Ma'am
January 5 2012
Picture: National Portrait Gallery, London
What splendid news it is that the Duchess of Cambridge is to be a patron of the National Portrait Gallery. It's been a while since a leading royal played a really active role in supporting Britain's art galleries. Kate's degree was in art history, so one assumes that she has chosen the NPG as much for its fine 'historic' collection as the headline-grabbing contemporary portraits. And perhaps she might even be a reader of Art History News!
To celebrate this happy event, here is an image of the NPG's portrait of Catherine Parr. It used to be called, erroneously, Lady Jane Grey, and was re-identified thanks to Catherine Parr's list of jewels. Let's hope that when the next Queen Catherine's portrait enters the NPG, it never loses its identity.
