Pearl Earring was painted by Michael Chippendale for Art Tour 2010.
She was one of four celebrity portraits that he created for the occasion. Many people admired her. Pearl was bought from us last week and I went to hang the painting in it's new home.
She now looks totally comfortable at the foot of a staircase at the end of a long gallery. I'm not sure who was happier with the result, the new owner or I.
The painting is my husband's interpretation of the famous Girl with a Pearl Earring by Vermeer. Vermeer's portrait inspired the book and more than one film of the same name. Chip's version is painted in uniformly sized dots that resolve themselves into the recognisable image as the distance from it increases. The new location allows Pearl Earring the space to be appreciated, she can be viewed close up and at distance. Her new residence is stunning, it is the home of an accomplished artist and features a lot of the artist's own work.
I think Pearl looks very much at home there. For a while she leaned against the wall in Chip's studio watching him paint. You probably would not guess from this picture that the face that he is working on is Muhammad Ali. The other two portraits in the collection were Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn. Since then he has added George Washington, me and Queen Elizabeth to the collection. Some have been featured at the Chippendale and Morris site and I'll get the others on there soon.
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