New Bard portrait for Stratford

There are three portraits of William Shakespeare that are deemed to be faithful likenesses: the Cobbe portrait (1610), the Chandos portrait (early 1600s) and the Droeshout portrait (1622).

Stourbridge artist Geoff Tristram took the last of these as the main study for his portrait of Shakespeare which is to be hung in Stratford Town Hall ahead of the 400th anniversary in April. “I studied all the existing portraits,” Geoff tells Herald arts. “Even the death mask [alleged — as its authenticity is disputed by many academics]. I took the Droeshout etching as the main basis. Ben Johnson said it was the one that most looked like him. But he appears stiff in it with a strange collar that looks as though he’s wearing an ironing board. I took that and turned him into flesh and blood — like a chap you might see down the pub.

“He didn’t really look like what we think of as Shakespeare until I put the Frank Zappa-style beard and moustache, that combined with his hairstyle triggers that recognition.”

For 40 years, Geoff has been a highly successful professional artist and illustrator. He has worked for many well-known companies such as Penguin Books, Embassy World Snooker, Tarmac, Cadbury's, Thornton's, Past Times, Winsor and Newton, Reeves Paints, Paper Rose Greetings Cards, Ravensburger Puzzles and the BBC — to name but a handful. Career highs include creating the cover of the first Trivial Pursuit game and designing a stamp to commemorate Charles and Diana’s wedding.

Tell us what you think of the new portrait of the Bard!

You can discover more about his work at www.geofftristram.co.uk