I met Steve Shirley, as she was known then, when I was asked to deliver a John Piper painting to her. She told me she hated the doors in her new home, to which I suggested that she could commission craftsmen, approved by the Crafts Council, to create new ones. She made me promise that if she were to go ahead with the commission, I had to stay with her from the beginning to the end of the process. Many beautiful glass doors followed, along with several other exciting projects, including a Wendy Ramshaw spiral staircase.

As her Art Advisor, it was always so exciting working with Steve because anything was possible. She was such an enthusiast and fun to be with but worked us both hard. Steve’s taste was for the abstract, particularly in painting, so I was able to introduce her to a number of artists’ work.

She then approached me in the late 1990s and asked if I would help her with the acquisition of artworks for a school she was setting up called Prior’s Court, intended to house and educate autistic children. At that time, I was deeply involved with a major exhibition of Julian Trevelyan‘s work, opening at The Royal College of Art, but I promised that, as soon as I was finished, I would join her.

"I believe that art is not just decorative … but has enormous therapeutic value … It is a steady, visible and enduring good that enhances the lives of those who come into contact with it."
~ Dame Stephanie Shirley

We then travelled all over the country visiting artists and sculpture parks looking for potential work for Prior’s Court. We wanted work that might engage with the children and elicit a reaction. The staff were rather alarmed when a beautiful Peter Randall Page sculpture was being delivered, as a child walked up to it and climbed on whilst it was being moved. Steve said “well, you wanted a reaction” and had a similar response when one particularly luscious painting was licked by one of the children.

Through working with Steve, the possibilities of commissioning work were immense - such specially commissioned projects included a ‘Mother and Child’ water feature by William Pye for the school courtyard. It was made of a reflective stainless steel with water cascading down the sides. There was almost a hoot of pleasure from the children when they saw it and ran with arms wide to embrace it. They were soaked but it got a reaction!

There was also a ten-acre wood at Prior’s Court, where children were encouraged to take solace in the relative calm and quiet seclusion. We carefully considered which works would be most appropriate for this space. Johannes von Stumm’s colourful glass sculpture, representing the children’s inclination to play, was a great success at the start of the wood.

Art was everywhere in the complex, including the kitchens, but  we were not allowed to put artworks in the children’s personal rooms. On one occasion, whilst in London, I found just the right artwork for the exterior of the school, a wonderful life-size ‘Vizla’ bronze dog by Dame Elizabeth Frink. Steve travelled to the London gallery and with a flourish and her enormous enthusiasm she bought it on the spot. It was such a well-loved sculpture by everybody, particularly the children.

Steve also commissioned several works from the jeweller, Wendy Ramshaw, for Prior’s Court. Firstly, the school gates, then the pond covers, and at home a spiral staircase. Wendy wasn’t in the least bit phased by these commissions and they worked well together.

At one stage I was tasked with finding an artist to paint Sir Stephen Hawking and accordingly I asked Thai-Shan Sheirenberg. He created two highly successful portraits of Hawking, one of which was subsequently donated to the Royal Society. Steve similarly commissioned Jennifer McRae to execute a portrait of Sir Tim Berners-Lee, in which she captured a rather ethereal side of him. He moved like quicksilver around the room.

She also donated a painting by Joyce Cairns, President of the Royal Scottish Academy, to the Women’s Art Collection at Murray Edwards College, Cambridge.

"I believe that, like a martini is only complete with an olive, both old and new buildings need artistic and therapeutic visual transformation to provide welcoming and soothing spaces." ~ Dame Stephanie Shirley

I am so proud of my time working with Steve and it lives long in my memory. She was such an inspiring woman and a great encourager to other women.

My memory is that Steve chose paintings and artworks because they spoke to her rather than because they were by women. Her taste became more abstract as we developed her collection. A significant piece in her own home was Elisabeth Frink’s ‘Man with Goggles’. Frink, in her writings, recalls seeing and hearing bombers flying overhead and wounded airman as a child in Suffolk. In my mind there is a clear connection between these two strong women of the same age, both greatly affected by war.

One of our earliest art exploring trips was to meet the German artist, Paul Feiler, living in Zennor. Steve had recently added an exquisite painting by Feiler to her collection. She was always very enthusiastic when meeting people and full of questions, so they got on well. She had such an enquiring mind. I learnt a considerable amount just by listening to her quizzing artists! So interesting.

We went on to St. Ives to visit Sandra Blow in her studio. She had just come out of hospital having had a pacemaker fitted, and Steve was appalled that Sandra had agreed to see us while she was obviously unwell. I think Sandra saw it as a welcome distraction from feeling bad. Sandra’s studio was filled with vast, colourful canvases to inspire you. It was a joy to see, and I left reluctantly. We would later acquire a Sandra Blow canvas for Steve’s collection.

So many wonderful artists and craftsmen have much to thank Steve for, and she them, for the enrichment it brought to her life.

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