The latest addition to the MCC Collection – a portrait
of Australia spin-bowling legend, Shane Warne, by the Chelsea-based artist Fanny
Rush – will be unveiled by the man himself at Lord’s tomorrow night
(7th June). The oil-on-linen painting of the world’s leading Test wicket-taker
was commissioned by MCC and has taken the artist over ten months to complete.
It will be on display in the Long Room this summer during the eagerly anticipated
Ashes series.
Fanny Rush was born and grew up in London. The only painter in a family of eminent
sculptors and writers, she developed her talent for painting while working as
an art director in Brazil. After winning an award for art direction at the Cannes
Film Festival, she decided to concentrate on painting full-time, and returned
to England to establish her own studio in 1998. She has produced work for MCC
in the past, but Shane Warne is her first portrait of a cricketer.
“From the moment I heard that MCC wanted to commission me to paint Shane
Warne, a very strong image of how to portray him flashed into my mind,”
she said. “I knew his reputation as a fearsome bowler, and I envisaged him
in the portrait as if seen from a batsman’s point of view, bearing down
formidably and with supreme confidence. Over the months that it took to complete
the painting, I got to know him as a person, too; he is a delightful man, and
I feel that I have also caught this aspect of him in the portrait.”
The MCC Museum houses the most comprehensive and important collection of cricket
memorabilia anywhere in the world. The Club has been acquiring cricket artefacts
since 1864 and, over 140 years on, continues to enhance its collection of historic
and contemporary items.
“MCC has an unrivalled collection of paintings of cricket-related subjects
and of great cricketers, past and present,” said Lord Fellowes, Chairman
of the MCC Arts and Library Sub-Committee, which is responsible for the Club’s
commissions and acquisitions. “It is important that the collection is kept
fresh and up-to-date. The contribution to cricket made by Shane Warne has been
immense, and it is only right that he should be represented. Fanny Rush has done
a wonderful job in capturing the spirit of both Shane Warne the cricketer, and
Shane Warne the man. I am sure that this portrait will be much admired during
the coming Ashes series, and in the future.”
The painting will be unveiled at 6.15pm tomorrow (Tuesday) evening. Both Shane
Warne and Fanny Rush will be available to pose with the painting, and answer questions.
Media are invited to attend from 5.30pm. Please contact Clare Skinner on 020 7616
8522 to arrange accreditation.
For further details, please contact:
Laura Garland Deputy Head of Communications 020 7616 8521 laura.garland@mcc.org.uk
Clare Skinner Press & Public Affairs Officer 020 7616 8522
clare.skinner@mcc.org.uk.
The portrait of Australian “Spin King” Shane Warne by Chelsea-based
artist Fanny Rush will be unveiled, by the subject himself, at Lord's on Tuesday
7th June. Later this summer Warne, who is the captain of Hampshire CCC, will join
the touring Australian cricket team for one of the most eagerly anticipated Ashes
series to be contested in England for the last 25 years. His portrait –
an oil-on-linen painting – will be on display in the Long Room at Lord’s
during the Ashes series.
Information about the Artist
Fanny Rush is the only painter in a family of eminent sculptors and writers. Her
portrait subjects have included Nobel Laureate Sir Paul Nurse, Sir Dennis Landau,
Sir William Castell and Michael Buerk. “Portrait painting is what I was
born to do; it combines my two great loves, painting and human beings,”
she says. “I find both these things infinitely fascinating and to be able
to combine them in my work is an enormous privilege and a complete joy.
“From the moment I heard that MCC was commissioning me to paint Shane Warne,
a very strong visual image of how to portray him flashed into my mind. I knew
his reputation as a fearsome bowler and I envisaged him in the portrait as if
seen from a batsman’s point of view, formidably bearing down with supreme
confidence and certainty and instilling so much awe that the wicket would undoubtedly
be lost before the ball had even left his hand.
“I started the portrait last summer when I met Shane at the Hampshire Rose
Bowl to make my initial drawings and photographs. I had asked to meet at midday
because I felt that very bright overhead sunshine would be necessary for my perceived
portrayal of him, giving me hard, strong shadows, hooding his eyes in a slightly
ominous way and giving depth and solidity to the figure. This intense light also
bestowed the colours with a saturated vitality that I used to intensify the contrasts,
and consequently the tension in the painting
“Shane and I became friends after that when he came to my studio in Fulham
for short sittings. It was so refreshing to talk with someone who, although being
one of the very best people in the world at what he does, is so modest that our
conversation and main point of common interest was actually a shared taste in
music. Our final sitting was at the Hampshire Rose Bowl just a few weeks ago when
Shane returned from Australia. I propped the painting up against the pegs in the
players’ dressing room, got out my brushes and paints, and finished the
work as he sat for me and we chatted. He is a delightful man and I feel I have
also caught this aspect of him in my portrait.
“I am immensely grateful to the MCC Arts and Library Sub-Committee for the
foresight they showed when they commissioned the painting. Everything about this
painting has been joyous and I feel that it exudes the vitality and the success
that has surrounded its making.”
Fanny has so appreciated the experience that she hopes to specialise in sporting
subjects in the future: “I enjoyed the dynamism and vitality that I was
able to express through this particular commission. The outdoor light produces
strong colours and contrasts which very much suit my style of painting. I hope
that this will be the first of many commissions of sportsmen.”