As a companion to the Camille Silvy exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, Paul Frecker gave a talk today about some of Silvy’s more ‘obscure’ sitters. Silvy was a French photographer who ran a successful studio in London in the 1860′s and Paul is one of the world’s 3 experts on Silvy and has the largest collection of his portraits which you can have a look at on his website.

That all said, readers of this blog will have enjoyed his contributions on the subject of photography, plus he’s practically family being godfather and “santa- claus gymwise” (their new name for him!) to the twins. So I was proudly beaming at him from the front of the theatre whilst trying to control my butterflies on his behalf! Needn’t have worried though, Paul naturally has a voice that’s PERFECT for public speaking, ran us through a rogues/aristocrats/adulterers/cross-dressers gallery of Victorian characters, with some brilliant comic timing might I add! They even had to call the Q & A at the end to a halt since time had run out! Not bad eh?

And, more as an example of Paul’s commitment to the artist than an excuse for a gratuitous tit shot, I made him expose himself for this blog. Yes, that’s Silvy’s logo encircling his right nipple.

I rest my case.

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