Biographies

Lucinda Douglas-Menzies started her training as assistant to architectural photographer Jeremy Whitaker, and to Sydney Harris, press and public relations photographer. She then worked at Sotheby’s for five years as a catalogue photographer to the Chinese porcelain, silver and jewellery departments. In 1986 she opened her own studio, specializing in fine art photography and portraiture. She has produced numerous exhibition catalogues for London galleries and museums, and various commissions for book and magazine publishers, including The Daily Telegraph, The Guggenheim Museum, New York, Veuve Clicquot and Harpers. Collections of her portraits have been exhibited at galleries around the country including the Minories in Colchester. The National Portrait Gallery owns 72 portraits by her. In 2009 to coincide with the celebrations for the International Year of Astronomy she exhibited 38 black and white portraits of top UK astronomers at seven different venues around the UK – including at the National Portrait Gallery – and published a book ‘Portraits of Astronomers’.

Lucinda Douglas-Menzies started her training as assistant to architectural photographer Jeremy Whitaker, and to Sydney Harris, press and public relations photographer. She then worked at Sotheby’s for five years as a catalogue photographer to the Chinese porcelain, silver and jewellery departments. In 1986 she opened her own studio, specializing in fine art photography and portraiture. She has produced numerous exhibition catalogues for London galleries and museums, and various commissions for book and magazine publishers, including The Daily Telegraph, The Guggenheim Museum, New York, Veuve Clicquot and Harpers. Collections of her portraits have been exhibited at galleries around the country including the Minories in Colchester. The National Portrait Gallery owns 72 portraits by her. In 2009 to coincide with the celebrations for the International Year of Astronomy she exhibited 38 black and white portraits of top UK astronomers at seven different venues around the UK – including at the National Portrait Gallery – and published a book ‘Portraits of Astronomers’.

Statement

This portrait was taken on September 22nd 1987 at 33 Queen’s Gate Gardens London SW7 and was included in an exhibition of portraits called Portraits of Luminaries at the Stephen Bartley Gallery, 62 Old Church Street, London SW3 from 15-23 March 1989. The theme of the exhibition was portraits of older luminaries in various fields. It may have been Stephen Bartley who suggested to Lucinda Douglas-Menzies to take the portrait. In a letter she received from Sir Tenchard Cox after she had sent him the contact sheet from the portrait sitting gives in her own words ‘such a good picture of him – full of ideas, a passion for art and good humour in old age’ that she feels it ought to be published here. At the time she was about to go off to Spain as in the letter he speaks enthusiastically about things she should do if she had time:

‘Dear Lucinda

I think that the photographs are splendid! I felt quite proud of myself. May I have 39 please? (Top of row, middle column). It is most kind of you to give me such a generous present.

I wish that I could go again to Spain. Madrid is a rather dull city, BUT the Prado is a MUST. If you go there, do not omit to look at the few English pictures tucked away on the Ground Floor. No one I have ever met- other than myself- has found them!

The Gallery is marvellous; not only for its great Spanish paintings, but also for the Italians, which not everyone finds time to see. I hope that you will see the Aquaduct at Segovia. I doubt whether you will have time to visit Cordova; I have never been there, alas, but the Mesquita is one of the great sights of Europe which, now at 82+, I am highly unlikely to see!

I used to speak Spanish; but, now, I get it mixed up with Italian and get into a great muddle, if I am not thinking hard! There are many guide books to Spain, but I think that the Blue guide is indispensable.

Cordially & bon voyage

Trenchard

I am sure that you will go to Toledo: an easy journey and a wonderful place. If you only have time to see the great picture The Burial of Count Orgaz it will be worth the journey.’

Bibliography

• BONHAMS, London, Creative Encounters: Portraits of Writers, Artists and Musician, The Roy Davids Collection Sale : Monday 3 October 2005 [lot 4: George Barker, Lot 120: Anthony Powell, Lot 129: A.L. Rowse]
• DOUGLAS-MENZIES, Lucinda, Portraits of Astronomers, Cambridge University Press in association with the Science Museum, 2009
• NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, Face to Face: Portraits of Astronomers, exhibition catalogue, March 2009
• RIDEAL, Liz, Double Take, National Portrait Gallery exhibition catalogue, 1991 [p 6 Eileen Agar]
• STEPHEN BARTLEY GALLERY, Portraits of Luminaries, 15-23 March 1989.

Evelyne Bell