THE artist who was tasked with painting a portrait of a much-loved local antiques expert said she wanted to capture his "great wit and character".

The 60 x 40 inch painting of Henry Sandon MBE — known in Worcester for his authority on all things Royal Worcester Porcelain and outside of the city for his frequent appearances on BBC programme Antiques Roadshow — now hangs in the Museum of Royal Worcester.

Battenhall-based artist, Sara Hayward, was tasked with painting Mr Sandon, which she did over four sittings of three hours from March this year to June.

At yesterday's grand unveiling of the portrait, which hangs in the museum's 20th Century Gallery, Ms Hayward said she was "relieved" to see the delight on Mr Sandon's face.

"I was very nervous. Although Henry had seen a photograph of it beforehand, he hadn't seen the painting in all it's glory, and it is a large painting. But he looked delighted with it, so I'm pleased.

"When painting Henry I wanted to capture his lovely character and witty humour. He has a very easy-going nature and was very nice to work with," Ms Hayward said.

Ms Hayward had been the museum's artist in residence for ten months when she was approached by friend of the museum, Cynthia Crawford MBE, to paint Mr Sandon.

Museum director, Amanda Savidge, said the portrait has received nothing but positive feedback.

"You can really see Mr Sandon's character shining through. He is Mr Worcester Porcelain, and he has done a lot for the museum over the years, so it is nice to have something of him in the museum, it's very special," she said.

"He was incredibly honoured. When I first saw the painting and how large it is I thought 'Oh gosh', as I wasn't sure where to put it. But we found the perfect spot for it at the top of the stairs at the end of the gallery, so it's the last thing people see when they visit and hopefully they will leave with a smile."

The museum is hosting an antiques fair next weekend and you can see more of Ms Hayward's work on display in the Cathedral's Chapter house until 4.30pm tomorrow (Sunday).