A rising your artist, whose work is framed and displayed by a Harrogate gallery, has had the rare honour of having one of her pieces snapped up by the Vatican.
A portrait of Pope Francis painted by Sara Pope, whose collections are displayed in Cold Bath Road’s WorkHouse Gallery, has been accepted into the Vatican Collection after gallery owner Dan Syrett secured an audience with the Pontiff’s representative.
The portrait, which is now gracing the walls of the headquarters of the Catholic Church, is a mixture of oil, acrylic, 24k gold leaf and 925 silver leaf.
Mr Syrett, who is also Sara Pope’s agent, said: This is an incredibly rare honour – and the first time that a Pope has been ‘hung’ in the Vatican.
Sara is an up and coming artist and she is beginning to be noticed by collectors both at home and abroad. To celebrate a recent exhibition in Florence which we attended, Sara painted a portrait of Pope Francis – Pope by Pope.
I contacted the Vatican and we were granted a private meeting with the Pope’s representative, Msgr Mark Miles.
He saw the painting, liked it very much, and, thanks to his personal recommendation, Pope by Pope is now in the Vatican Collection being viewed by the Pope on a regular basis.
This is a terrific honour for Sara, and one that will raise her profile considerably. I think she is the first British artist in many years to have her work accepted into the Vatican Collection.
Further information about Workhouse Gallery can be found on its website at www.workhousegallery.com
