Thatcher portrait goes for £440,000
A portrait of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has made £440,000 for the Conservative Party.
The picture had only been expected to fetch around £100,000.
The painting, by Michael Noakes, was commissioned in 1990 by the Grocers’ Company.
Noakes wrote on the back of the study: “Seen and liked by the PM Sat 17th Feb 1990 at No 10 D St.”
It is not clear who the painting’s owner was, only that they agreed to sell it on behalf of the Conservative Party. Equally, the bidder’s identity is not known.
The sale took place at the party’s famous spring ball at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. This is the major Tory fund raising event of the year where all of the party’s hierarchy turn out in force, with important party donors rubbing shoulders with Shadow Ministers.
The money is sure to be welcomed by Michael Howard. The party’s coffers will need all the money they can get to fight the upcoming general election.
