The Duchess of Cornwall has paid £300 for an oil painting of an avocado. The artist said she is “just stunned” after selling one of the paintings to the Duchess.
The Duchess of Cornwall spotted the oil painting, called Halved Avocado, while visiting the Ferense Art Gallery in Hull with the Prince of Wales last Wednesday. The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince of Wales toured the gallery, which has just undergone a £5.2m revamp timed to coincide with the City of Culture 2017 celebrations.
The Duchess of Cornwall had also been interested in another painting by another artist but was informed that particular piece was not for sale. She then found Ms Brayshaw’s still-life of the halved avocado, which was just one of about 330 works of art in the exhibition. The artist, who is studying a masters degree in fine art at Leeds University tweeted, “I’ve never been so thrilled to be second choice.”
She said: “I didn’t think anyone would buy it if you blink you’ll miss it. I was just stunned really.”
The couple were greeted by hundreds of people who had waited in the rain to catch a glimpse of the royal couple as they arrived at the gallery. They met with members of the City of Culture team. They then split up, the Prince of Wales moved on to the Holy Trinity Church while the Duchess of Cornwall met with staff and volunteers at a homeless charity, Emmaus Hull and East Riding. The Prince of Wales also visited the Royal Shakespeare Company’s outreach programme, where he watched a rehearsal of The Hypocrite, which is set during the English Civil War. It stars Mark Addy, who played King Robert Baratheon in Game of Thrones. The Duchess’s visit continued with a visit to the literacy charity First Story at The Deep, where she presented prizes to the five winners of Hull’s 100-word writing competition.
It would be nice to see the painting which was bought with her money I presume.