A COUPLE are tracing their family history after a mystery painting was linked to a neglected collection by a famous 18th century artist.
George and Susan King, of Alverthorpe, have learned that a portrait of Mrs King’s grandma, Eva Bedford, may have been painted by prestigious Ossett artist Mark Senior.
Mr King, 58, began tracing its history after Mrs Bedford’s birth certificate wa
s found, showing she was from a blacksmith’s family in Ossett.
After contacting the local civic society, the couple were told it matched the style of Senior, who drew on his home town for his oil paintings which were displayed regularly at the Royal Academy of Arts, London.
Mrs King, 58, of Willow Fold, said she remembered the painting of her grandma from when she was growing up in Peacock, Wakefield. But it remained a mystery why the painting had been commissioned around 100 years ago.
She said: “My husband has fallen in love with it. He says there is a resemblance to me in the eyes, but I think it resembles my grandson.
“George contacted Ossett Civic Trust, and they said the painting corresponded with the style of Mark Senior.”
Senior remains well-known for his work, although many of his paintings are still gathering dust in storage at Ossett Town Hall and Wakefield Art Gallery.
Ossett Town Hall user’s group appealed for a restoration of the paintings before the town hall’s 100th birthday last June.
In 2006, senior’s painting of Runswick Bay, near Whitby, was auctioned for £6,000 during a four-minute sale 79 years after the artist died.
Mrs King added: “They obviously thought a lot of my grandma to have the painting made. We know the family were blacksmiths and it makes you think they were quite well-to-do. My dad always said, ‘if the truth were known we might have owned half of Ossett’.”
