A portrait of Lord Longford, was unveiled on 27 January 2010 at a reception hosted by the Lord Speaker in the River Room at the House of Lords.
Lord Falkland, Chairman of the Works of Art Committee said;
‘This is an important addition to the picture collection at the House of Lords. We are delighted to be able to mark Lord Longford’s contribution over many years with this portrait, and members of my Committee were unanimous in agreeing to accept this most generous gift.’
The painting will hang in the Peers’ Dining Room alongside other portraits of peers including Lord Falconer and Baroness Shirley Williams.
Cécile Crombeke was born in Bristol. Following service in the Women’s' Auxiliary Air Force during the Second World War she was awarded a scholarship to the West of England College of Art where she qualified in 1950. She specialised in portraits mainly of ‘ordinary people ‘However when painting Auberon Waugh, she was offered an introduction to his godfather, Lord Longford. This introduction was followed by five sittings which resulted in this portrait, which was completed after the sittings and never seen by Lord Longford.
Other portraits by Cécile Crombeke include mountaineer Chris Bonnington, former Home Secretary Lord Robert Carr, and Nobel Prize winning chemist Dorothy Hodgkin.
She exhibited widely throughout her career, including at the Royal Academy and the Royal Society of Portrait Painters.
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