Corpus Christi College recently unveiled the first portrait of a woman to hang in its hall since the College’s foundation in 1517. The portrait, which depicts the College’s President, Professor Helen Moore, is also Corpus Christi’s first portrait painted by a woman.
Professor Moore became the college’s first female President in 2018, shortly after its 500th anniversary. Corpus Christi began admitting women as graduate students in 1974, and started admitting women undergraduates in 1979. Moore became a Fellow in English at Corpus Christi in 1996.
Professor Moore told Cherwell: “Being painted by an artist of Miriam Escofet’s standing was a great privilege and an experience I will never forget. Corpus was eager to enhance the visual diversity of the Hall as our most public space, and the portrait was designed with its final setting in mind.”
Miriam Escofet is a Spanish painter and graduate of Brighton School of Art. Her previous work has been selected for the BP Portrait Award exhibitions in 2009, 2010 and 2012 as well as the Royal Society of Portrait Painters’ annual exhibition. In 2020, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office commissioned Escofet to paint a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.
Escofet told Cherwell: “It feels like a huge honour and very special to be [sic] the first woman artist to paint the first female portrait to hang in the Hall since the College was founded. Not only the first female portrait, but a portrait of the first woman President of the College. There is a lovely symmetry to that.
“I truly believe in the power of art to shape our imaginations and sense of reality, so I hope that this portrait, in its own very modest way, will act as an ambassador for the achievements of women and be inspiring in some way.”
Discussing the process of painting Professor Moore, Escofet told Cherwell: “It is always a compliment and an honour to be chosen to paint someone who is so eminent in their field; they invariably show a curiosity and respect for the creative process, which is very conducive to a good outcome. The time spent with someone during sittings gives me a vital insight into their personality, which is always a key component of a portrait.”
