Gray’s School of Art student Jean Kitson was awarded a Travelling Scholarship whilst a student and she proceeded to demonstrate her wonderful skills by painting this copy of Velazquez’s ‘Infanta Margarita’. It was painted in Spain on a Gray’s School of Art travelling scholarship. The painting of such subjects was common at that time and this work is quite probably the earliest work held in the RGU Art and Heritage Collection having been painted in 1917. Miss Kitson was awarded £120 which was paid to her in instalments. Her proposed itinerary as a Travelling Scholar was to spend three months in Holland studying in the galleries of Rotterdam, Delft, The Hague, Leyden, Haarlem and Amsterdam, followed by one month in Paris. Finally, the young artist would spend two months in Madrid copying works of Velazquez and the Italian masters at the Prado. On her return, this painting was retained by the School, in accordance with the terms of the scholarship. Today, with inflation Miss Kitson’s £120 would be worth in the region of £8000.
