The acquisition of No.14 Lincoln’s Inn Fields in 1996 was the great achievement of the curatorship of Margaret Richardson (Curator 1995-2005) and the Museum’s Trustees and then Director, Tim Knox, felt it would be extremely appropriate to commission a portrait of Margaret to hang in the house that she secured for the Museum. This continued the tradition of curator’s portraits, but also honoured the steely determination and vision of Margaret in reuniting the triumvirate of Soane houses on the north side of the Fields. The portrait was painted by Charlotte Verity, who studied art at the Slade School of Fine Art under Sir William Coldstream and is best known for beautiful introspective paintings of her garden in Camberwell and still-life pictures. She was artist in residence at the Garden Museum in 2010. The portrait was completed in the summer of 2011 and fitted into a limed oak frame made up from French architectural mouldings. As the Director of the Museum, Tim Knox, wrote in the 2012 Annual Report: 'It is a beautiful work whose acquisition is being funded by contributions from colleagues and friends of Margaret'.

Commissioned by the Trustees of Sir John Soane's Museum and funded by contributions from colleagues and friends of Margaret Richardson.