Continue reading “Unlikely Treasure: an 1866 Gift of Remembrance for the Grieving Queen Victoria”“I need not tell you that since we left, all my thoughts have been with you at Windsor, and that your image fills my whole soul. Even in my dreams I never imagined that I should find so much love on earth.”
Prince Consort Albert to his new wife, 21 year old Queen Victoria, in 1840.
Category: The quest to find the Portrait of Lord Keeper Richard Lane
There is clear evidence that a portrait of Sir Richard Lane exists… What did he look like?
Westminster Palace: Analysis of the 1844 Trial of Strafford Painting (Conclusion)
Welcome to the final (and best) chapter of the “Trial of Strafford” analysis! We have reached the core of this historic drama–the Parliament’s 1641 prosecution team versus Lord Strafford’s muzzled and thinly tolerated counsel for the defense. We have come to the reason I became involved in the story of this painting in the first place: the possibility that Thomas Woolnoth (the artist who created this historic 1844 painting): 1) knew about Richard Lane’s role in the trial, 2) had access to Richard Lane’s (now lost) 1645 portrait, and 3) deliberately included him in the cast of historical portraitures depicted within this dramatic painting.
Continue reading “Westminster Palace: Analysis of the 1844 Trial of Strafford Painting (Conclusion)”
We Made the Front Page!
I was just told that the Castle Pines Connection (a local monthly paper) is featuring a fabulous story about the Quest – on its front page!
Westminster Palace: Analysis of the 1844 Trial of Strafford Painting (Part 1)
My apologies if I seemed to have gone “offline” for a few weeks. It’s taken quite a bit of sorting to be sure nothing got lost from the trip to the UK. I also took time for a badly needed camping and mountain biking trip to Moab (which in turn cost me a bit more time to heal from a crash I had on one of those truly fabulous trails)!
I’ve been keen to share the presentation I gave at Westminster, but struggled mightily to get it into a single article. Having failed that, this will be the first of three in which I will take you through the analysis I shared with the Office of the Curator of the Parliamentary Art Collection last month. This analysis regards the “Trial of Strafford” painting that hangs in the House of Lords side of the parliamentary complex at Westminster, London. Continue reading “Westminster Palace: Analysis of the 1844 Trial of Strafford Painting (Part 1)”
Breakthrough – The Chance Discovery of a Photograph of the Lost Portrait of Sir Richard Lane!
I have searched for the Lost Portrait of Sir Richard Lane(or any image of it) for three years – with no luck. That just changed!
Imagine spending three years researching someone you’ve never seen an image of. We humans are a visual tribe. The mind will fill a visual void with a “placeholder” concept of who you picture that person to be. What would it be like to one day finally discover what they really looked like? Would their real appearance affect your understanding of who they were? Did you expect the person to be handsome or homely? Tall or short? Imposing or bookish? Proud or humble? Had I expected Sir Richard Lane be portly, like his predecessor, Lord Keeper Littleton? Or perhaps gaunt? Would his hair be fair, thin and curly, or perhaps thick, straight and black? It seems a human truth that we never seem to feel a tangible sense of someone until we have the chance to “look them in the eye”…
Homecoming of the Quest for the Lost Lord Keeper
I just love a dramatic breakthrough. And a month before my recent trip to the UK, the Quest for the Lost Lord Keeper had a couple of them – so it seemed high time to throw a “coming out” party for the Quest!
Continue reading “Homecoming of the Quest for the Lost Lord Keeper”
Final Day in London…
We could have used another week on this trip, but I don’t know where I’d have gotten the energy for it! We were down to our last full day in London (Friday) and then it was back to the colonies the next. As the sun came up, it was hard to see how any day could hope to compete with the day before – but this day was a fighter! It started with a “before hours” escorted visit to inspect and photograph the massive Norris Monument (normally not approachable by the public) in Westminster Abbey. This was followed by a tour of Richard Lane’s boyhood school, the Westminster School, which is still in business. Then, we were off to the National Archives in Kew to spend the afternoon going through a long list of documents I’d reserved for viewing. Among these were three original letters to and from Richard Lane in exile during the last few months of his life…
Continue reading “Final Day in London…”
One of the Most Interesting Days of my Life….
There are days you will remember always. This was one of them!
Yesterday was quite a day. You’d have heard about it last night, but I was simply too tired to do anything but have a glass of wine, savor a bit of chocolate and wonder at the day I’d just had. Just because you put a lot of work into something doesn’t mean it’s going to lead somewhere interesting. Nor does it mean that it will be well received, let alone be referred to as “scholarly”…
Continue reading “One of the Most Interesting Days of my Life….”
Report from Oxford and Northampton
nWe’ve been on the ground in England for a few days now. Although I wanted to spend a few minutes writing a quick report before now, this is the first chance we’ve had. I’m exhausted, but it’s been a great trip so far. To be sure, I’ve had a couple of disappointments, but also some major wins!
A Few Bold Predictions!
I’ve done about all I can to be ready. It’s been four months of steady preparation, with the last month feeling a lot like a cattle drive! I have requested several dozen 400-year-old documents for viewing in five different archives, have planned stops at around a dozen historic sites (including 4 churches), have arranged around a dozen appointments, will be giving three presentations and have arranged three happy hours / mixers. Now, it’s time to finish packing, relax, and settle into the reality that not everything is going to go my way.
But there are some very interesting possibilities twinkling on the other side of that long plane ride! This seems like a good time to go on the record with a few predictions that just might work out…
5280 Explorer 