Homes Antiques

good example of this approach. It is actually

a photographic copy that has been touched up

with oil and varnish to resemble a painting.

Diana is especially keen on portraits and

her favourite hangs in the hall. Depicting a

young boy with a wheelbarrow he appears

to be heading out towards the garden. ‘I love

him. I’ve known him since I was a child’ she

says but it’s the actual image not necessarily

the authenticity that fascinates her. The gilt-

framed painting La Poesia in the sitting room

is a copy after Carlo Dolci (1616–1686). The

original hangs in the Galleria Corsini Florence.

‘It’s the look we’re after not always the

provenance’ she says. ‘I don’t necessarily go out

searching for specific items things just catch

my eye.’ For Diana it’s clear that the thrill of

collecting lies in discovery and surprise. ‘It’s the

excitement of never knowing what you might

come home with!’ Q

ABOVE The

botanical prints

reect Diana’s love

of gardening. The

tapestry fragment

on the green

cupboard depicts a

phoenix rising –

a symbol of their

recovery after a re

swept through

the house

H&A SUMMER 2017 57

H&A LIFESTYLE: Homes