Photograph of Lydiard House Keeper & restored portraits, 1990s

Photograph taken to accompany an article by the Swindon Link Magazine on the restoration of two oval portraits depicting Lady Johanna St.John (1631-1705) and her husband Sir Walter St.John, 3rd Baronet (1622-1708).

The portraits had been acquired from the late Lord Bolingbroke in 1965. Both required conservation cleaning and in this case the frames were restored.

Like several paintings in the Lydiard collection the picture frames had been painted white in the early 19th century, in order to disguise the degraded gilding beneath. Parts of the mouldings had also been lost. Over the years, the frames had turned gray. Due to the particularly poor condition of the frames the Keeper of Lydiard House, Sarah Finch-Crisp (pictured), in consultation with conservators, decided to have the original gilding restored.

Paint scrapes revealed that both frames had originally had a gold gilt surface layer. Interestingly, at some point, the frame of Walter's picture had been re-gilded with gold gilt and Johanna's with less expensive silver gilt, prior to their being painted white.

Other paintings in the State Bedroom retain their 19th century white painted (now gray) frames as this is part of their story. However several had already been repainted in an unsympathetic and deeper shade.