My research at the National Portrait Gallery was undertaken towards the creation of a new picture guide for visitors to Kedleston Hall providing support for the Curator of Paintings and Sculpture and his assistant. My research identified several re-attributions of paintings on display as well as providing valuable contextual information on artists and related works at other historic properties. In terms of my own professional development, the Understanding British Portraits bursary was an excellent opportunity for me to become familiar with using archival resources to provenance paintings and to gather further background information on works on display to our visitors. In addition to this, my placement has prompted me to raise awareness amongst the other regionally-based National Trust curators who have responsibility for collections research and interpretation of the valuable resource available to them at the NPG’s Heinz Archive.

simon.mccormack[at]nationaltrust.org.uk