© Courtesy Royal Cornwall Museum
The piece called Jubilee Procession in a Cornish Village was painted in 1897 by George Sherwood Hunter and shows children carrying lanterns through Newlyn in celebration of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.
Royal Cornwall Museums learning manager Beth Davies discovered the painting in the store room two years ago and said she fell in love with it the second she saw it.
“Its surface was covered in a myriad of cracks so was not suitable for display but it impressed me so much I just knew it was worth trying to restore,” said Beth.
With the aid of a restoration fund from the Governments Renaissance in Regions programme locally accredited conservator Alison Smith has been able to bring the painting back to life.
“It was very dirty but a real joy to clean because you got so much reward from the work. I love the way the artist has captured the dusk and then the light on the faces and the lanterns.
“It’s a fantastic picture,” said Alison.
The painting was donated to the Royal Institution of Cornwall by Hunter’s nephew who inherited the work after he died in 1919. It is now on display in the RCMs Fine Art Gallery.
