MCC 6 March 2007

[Anguillan newsboy]

MCC unveils new portrait of Sir Vivian Richards

Date released: 6 March 2007

As the world’s leading cricketers begin to arrive in the West Indies for the start of the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has unveiled a new portrait of Sir Vivian Richards, one of the legends of the game.

The oil-on-canvas painting, by the artist Brendan Kelly, was commissioned as part of the Lord’s Portrait Project. MCC is inviting up to ten prize-winning young portrait painters to depict some of the world’s greatest cricketers, including Brian Lara, Muttiah Muralitharan and Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Kelly’s painting is a powerful portrayal of the original ‘Master Blaster’. It measures over 6ft square and will hang in the Long Room at Lord’s during the summer.

Speaking about his subject, Brendan Kelly said: ”Sir Viv is defined partly by the sheer power and precision with which he wielded his bat. I wanted to find a way to paint his portrait that ec***d that ‘crack’ as he hit the ball. Hence the m***ive scale, directness of the pose and the explosion of paint.

I used techniques whereby I could slam and whip paint all over the canvas yet, at the same time, tie down his likeness with pinpoint accuracy."

Kelly visited Sir Vivian last year in Antigua. “On the way to our first meeting, I p***ed the new stadium, under construction at North Sound, which was to be named after him. I was m***ively impressed by the sheer scale of the structure. Sir Vivian remains a very powerful figure, still very much involved with cricket and the preparations for the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup. I was lucky to get any time with him at all.”

The new Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium was officially handed over to the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament organisers in early February and will be one of the venues for the Super Eight Series - the second stage of the tournament.

Kelly’s portrait of Sir Vivian Richards will be exhibited at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in the Mall Galleries, London SW1, from Thursday 26th April to Sunday 13th May 2007.