Posthumous Academic Portrait Commission

The late Edward Cripps, brother of Robert Cripps and son of Sir Humphrey Cripps, served on the Board of Directors of Velcro Industries. This portrait is displayed in the Edward Cripps Library and Gymnasium, a building generously funded by the Cripps Foundation in his memory.

Posthumous portraiture presents challenges distinct from painting a living sitter available to pose directly for the artist. The original photographic reference for this portrait was limited in both clarity and tonal information. Large areas of the dark academic robe appeared as a single underexposed shape, making it impossible to convincingly understand the structure, folds, and surface qualities of the fabric from the photograph alone.

In order to reconstruct the missing visual information, Marvin created a physical academic robe matching the original garment so that the lighting, form, and textural detail could be studied directly from life. This additional reference allowed the portrait to achieve a far greater sense of dimensionality, realism, and presence than would have been possible through photographic enlargement alone.

In order to avoid the flatness often associated with enlarged photographic reference, Marvin reconstructed portions of the academic regalia so that the structure, folds, and textural qualities of the fabric could be studied and rendered convincingly. The resulting portrait preserves both the dignity of the occasion and the quiet humanity of the sitter.

Robert Cripps was so moved by the completed portrait that he later commissioned Marvin to paint four additional versions to hang in various locations commemorating Edward’s memory.