I
The Refusal
In 1938 he refused the royal commission that would have made him rich, and painted his village schoolteacher instead. The refusal cost him a decade of work and made his reputation.
The MuseumHall of Arts · Global
Sir Alaric Vance
1901 — 1979
Global Treasure · Inducted MMXVIII
Sir Alaric Vance
Arts · Global
Portraitist to three generations and mentor to hundreds — his workshop refused all state commissions but painted, without fee, every teacher in his county.
“A painting is a promise kept to a face that will not last.”
The Life, in Chapters
A Story Told Slowly
II
The Workshop
For thirty-one years his workshop in Devon taught, without charge, any student who could reach it. Seven of them became museum directors; none forgot the rule about teachers.
III
The Vanished Portraits
Two hundred and sixty of the teachers' portraits still hang in the classrooms he painted them for. He asked that they never be catalogued.
Commissioned Portraits
The Painted Chronicle
Every treasure is rendered in oil by a commissioned artist. Tap a painting for its story.
Order of the
Golden Laurel
Global Class
Order of the Golden Laurel · Global Class
Citation of the Jury
“For sixty years of portraits given away, and a workshop that gave away more.”
Convened by
- — Sir Bernard Ashcroft
- — Prof. Isabel Rojas
- — Dr. Henri Moreau
- — The Devon Fellowship
In Voice & In Film
Living Testimony
Podcasts
The Refused Portrait
47 min · The 1938 commission, reconstructed from letters.
Documentaries
Sixty Years, Given Away
1 hr 28 min · Filmed in the Devon workshop, still preserved.
The Archive Record
- Nomination
- Royal College of Art, 2016
- Sources verified
- 421 documents · 63 testimonies
- Jury deliberation
- 14 months
- Inducted
- MMXVIII · Global Class
