Life as a Cambridge porter is about more than lost keys and sorting post, and now the city’s unsung heroes are being celebrated in a new exhibition.
Louise Riley-Smith, a professional portrait artist based in Cambridge, decided to paint all the Head Porters in Cambridge after she was inspired by a comment from Jonathan Riley-Smith, her husband who is a retired Professor and Fellow of Emmanuel College.
Riley-Smith has been painting the Head Porters in her central Cambridge studio or on location.
Cheryl Bowran, Head Porter at Newnham, was painted in April this year.
She said: “I really enjoyed taking part and I am looking forward to going to see the exhibition with my family. There is a lot more to being a porter than many people realise and we all have to be organised and very calm under pressure.”
She is Newnham’s first female Head Porter and manages a team of nine people.
Riley-Smith spent around six hours with each porter for the sittings and said: “The first impression is often the important one – it suggests the pose and the composition.”
The project will culminate in an exhibition of 25 paintings at The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, from Saturday, June 18 until June 24.