A Sixties Portrait Reunited with Its Sitter After Nearly 6 Decades
In 1967, the British painter Philip Lambe began a portrait of a young New Zealander who had just made the front page of a London newspaper. She never saw it finished. Nearly six decades later, Gloria Vanderpump found it in a Webb’s Art Online catalogue.
Philip Agnew Lambe, Portrait of Young Woman in Pink Hood, oil on canvas signed, 498 x 595mm.
In June 1967, as London newspaper journalists measured hemlines on skirts at Royal Ascot in what they dubbed the “Mini Stakes” (a competition to see who wore the shortest mini), a young New Zealander on her OE provisionally took the title.
On the contest’s final day, Gloria Vanderpump arrived in a polka-dot ‘micro-mini’ cut more than ten inches above the knee, a shocking-pink sou’wester on her head, and made the front page of the Evening News and Star. This was the Swinging Sixties, and even though the young New Zealander was accompanied by a well-known Australian punter, the headlines all focused on the groovy outfit.
The photograph caught the eye of Philip Agnew Lambe (1897–1968), the portrait painter married to Gloria’s step-grandmother, Zoe. A member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters since 1939 and one of the few British painters to win a gold medal at the Paris Salon, Lambe asked Gloria to sit for him in his small Chelsea studio, wearing the same pink hat.
Gloria left London before the portrait was finished and never saw it completed. However, nearly six decades on, she stumbled upon the portrait through Webb’s August 2025 Art Online catalogue, in what she called “an unbelievable discovery.”
We spoke to Gloria about the beautiful coincidence of Portrait of Young Woman in Pink Hood travelling halfway around the world to be reunited with its sitter.
Interview
Gloria Vanderpump on the front page of London’s Evening News and Star, June 1967, after winning Royal Ascot’s infamous “Mini Stakes” competition in her shocking-pink sou’wester and polka-dot micro-mini.
Webb’s: What was London like at the time the portrait was painted
Gloria Vanderpump: It was fantastic, the Swinging Sixties in full swing. There has never been another decade like it!
How did the portrait happen, and what do you remember most about the process?
It was 1967 and I was on my OE, living in London with Philip [the artist] and his wife, Zoe, who was my step-grandmother.
The portrait was Philip’s idea after he saw a photo of me on the front page of the Evening News and Star wearing the shortest miniskirt at Royal Ascot that year, in June 1967! I was living with them from about May 1967 until some time after Christmas and New Year, after which I went to Europe and then returned to NZ.
They lived in South Kensington and Philip had a small art studio in The Boltons, Chelsea, home to quite a few London artists. I can’t remember a lot about the studio, apart from the fact that it was small (about the size of a very small one-bedroom flat converted into an art studio). It was jam-packed with art materials everywhere.
Philip did not drive, so we used to travel from their home to the studio by bus. On the bus, Philip was always reminding me that he remembered when the fare was only one penny.
Whilst I sat, Philip always sang and hummed away to Carmen, his favourite opera, narrating and singing every word of every scene to me. He knew it off by heart. I think I used to fall asleep sometimes!
Tell us about the pink hood in the painting.
Actually, it was a hat, not a pink hood. It was the hat I was wearing in the photo that appeared in the newspaper, which is why Philip selected it for the portrait.
What did you think of the portrait when it was finished?
I never saw the portrait finished, as I started travelling throughout Europe before returning to NZ in 1968. Like most young people my age at the time, I was much more interested in travelling and experiencing new things than in giving any thought to a portrait being painted of me.
What happened to the painting after it was done?
I doubt the painting was ever sold or given another thought after Philip died. He died in 1968, the year I returned to NZ; I can’t remember what he died of. I imagine his studio was packed up and all his canvases, not being in frames, were rolled up and put into storage by his wife, Zoe, and forgotten. She more than likely didn’t take any notice of the subjects at the time. After Zoe left London to live in Florida (in the late 1970s or early 1980s, I think), she probably kept all his works in storage or took them with her. She returned to live in NZ around the late 1980s because her only relative, a sister, lived here. She probably had Philip’s art shipped to NZ with her, where it remained stored and forgotten. Not long after she returned, she died of pancreatic cancer. She and Philip never had any children, so I imagine her estate went to her sister.
I note the portrait was framed in Masterton, which is where I believe her sister lived. I am guessing her sister died some time ago and her estate, which more than likely included all of Philip’s artworks, went to her children. I am also guessing it is one of Eileen’s children who has put these artworks up for auction at Webb’s. All of this is only guesswork, but I cannot work out how else so many of Philip’s paintings ended up here in NZ.
How did you find out that it was up for auction at Webb’s Art Online, and what was your reaction when you first saw it?
From time to time, I have browsed the internet to see what information I could find about Philip’s art and perhaps learn what may have happened to the portrait. This is the first time I have come up with anything positive. I found the portrait on MutualArt, and from there it led me to Webb’s. Words can’t describe how astounded I was, and how happy I am to actually have it in my possession.
Congratulations on being reunited! Where does the artwork live now, and what memories come with it every time you look at it?
The portrait now hangs on a prominent wall in my living room, and I shall forever be reminded of Philip and Zoe, of Royal Ascot in 1967 and of swinging London in the ’60s!
More about Philip Lambe
By Gloria Vanderpump
He painted a portrait of Lord Cobham (Governor-General of NZ from 1957 to 1962), which I believe hangs in the Auckland National Art Gallery.
He also painted NZ opera singer Inia Te Wiata, Rima Te Wiata’s father. He and Zoe were very good friends of Inia and his wife, Beryl.
He was one of the few British portrait painters to be awarded a gold medal by the Paris Salon, for his portrait of Sir Hubert Wallington QC.
Philip used to take me to the National Gallery in London, where I spent hours with him as he showed me how to view paintings close up, through the eye of a circle made with the thumb and forefinger.
The painting Lady in Blue with Dog is a portrait of his wife, Zoe, and their dog, Willy. It hung in the main entrance of their home; I also have a photo of it.
Philip judged the Kelliher Art Competition in 1967.
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Lot 1. Jan Nigro, untitled, 1993, pastel and watercolour on paper, 610 x 800mm.
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