During the first lockdown WGS Head of Art, Ruth Fildes, inspired by a national project, suggested saying thank you to WGS alumnae who were key workers by offering to paint their portraits.

“Inspired by the highly successful and wonderfully inspirational national project, ‘Portraits for NHS Heroes’, which was initiated by the brilliant artist, Tom Croft, we, in the Art Department here at Withington, also held a deep desire to give back to our very special key working alumnae, all of whom we know have been working tirelessly and without question for all of us, during this time of unprecedented international crisis.

We decided to follow in Tom’s large footsteps and offer a free portrait to our alumnae to say thank you and to express the depth of our gratitude and our heartfelt thanks for all that they have done, and are continuing to do, for us during the pandemic.”

The result has been a stunning collection of paintings created by Withington students and staff. This has been a wonderful way to inspire our present students and also to bring them closer to our wonderful alumnae.

If you would like to read more of our alumnae’s experiences during the pandemic, there are features on all the portraits in our alumnae magazine, Withington Onwards 2020.