Bishop David has been presented with his portrait following the installations and Mass with the Cathedral chapter.
He unveiled the portrait in the presence of all the cathedral chapter.
The portrait was painted by Harriet Dahan-Bouchard, a young artist based in London. Harriet has had a thorough training in the naturalistic tradition of drawing and painting from life using sight-size, a technique that stems directly from the leading ateliers of nineteenth-century Paris. This portrait practise has been used by masters since the seventeenth century, including Reynolds, Lawrence and Sargent. Harriet tries to work exclusively from life (circumstances permitting) not only from a visual aspect but also in order to get to know and understand the person she is painting through the process. Due to covid restrictions, Harriet relied on photography to capture Bishop David’s best features!
The painting was presented by Msgr Sean Healy, provost (the chief delegate of the collegiate), on behalf of the canons of our cathedral chapter, who gift the portrait to the Bishop.
Msgr Sean thanked Bishop David, saying
“Thank you for coming to Northampton, thank you for all that you have given and contributed already and we all look forward to working closely with you in the years ahead”.
The portrait will hang next to Bishop Peter Doyle, bishop emeritus and all the previous Bishops of Northampton on the stairs at Bishop’s House.