Presentation of Mayoral portraits at Hertford Castle

30th April 2025

Dating from the mid-15th Century, Hertford Castle hosts many events throughout the year and houses the offices of the Town Council. It is a beautiful building set in historic grounds.

Each Autumn, Hertford’s Mayor is invited to comes along to a Tuesday evening session at Cowbridge Halls and sit for their portrait. Members of Hertford Art Society enjoy painting and drawing the current Mayor in full regalia and many colourful images result from this enjoyable annual event.

   
Images of Rachel Carter - Mayor 2024
Left: by Daine Warburton; Middle: by Joe Rowson; Right: by Jill Rolfe

A group of Members were delighted to be invited by the current Mayor, Rachel Carter, to present paintings and drawings of herself and the previous Mayor, Vicky Smith, resulting from the two portrait workshops in 2023 and 2024. As these sessions are only 2 hours long, many of the artists had completed their portraits later, using sketches and photographs taken on the night. These paintings and drawings were displayed in the lovely rooms within the castle and the artists were offered drinks and nibbles as the current and previous Mayors, Rachel Carter and Vicky Smith, admired the work and chatted to the Members who had been able to bring their work along.

   
Images of Vicky Smith - Mayor 2023
Left: by Angela Roberts; Middle: by Derek Carey; Right: by Jill Rolfe

   
Left: by Sally Steele; Right: by Mike Lawrence

 
Left: by Joe Rowson; Right: by Kay Frid

This was a very enjoyable evening. Our hosts were warmly thanked for arranging such a pleasant get together. Mayor Rachel Carter is just coming to the end of her term. We will look forward to painting the next Mayor as this has become a traditional part of the Autumn programme.

HArts Fest 2025 at Hertford Castle

Saturday 12th April 2025

Visitors were able to enjoy a series of art and craft stalls, arts and culture based activities in the Hertford Castle grounds at this one-day free family event. The weather was fine and sunny and there were many interested visitors to the Hertford Art Society gazebo.

Children were invited to draw or use collage to decorate cards or Easter egg shapes and their work was displayed while they and their families explored the various stalls.

Angela Roberts and Ray Ward set up their easels to paint en plein air and created a great deal of interest from the visitors.

The event was very well attended and there was a lovely atmosphere created by the live musicians and singers. A broad selection of interesting stalls captured people’s attention and the various refreshments available encouraged families to sit on the lawn and enjoy the entertainment.

 
Left: View from Hertford Castle by Angela Roberts; Right: HArts Fest 2025 by Ray Ward

The forthcoming Open Exhibition which will take place from 3rd – 10th May at Cowbridge Halls, Cowbridge, Hertford, SG14 1PG was promoted and visitors showed great interest in the Society and its various programmes and exhibitions. Greetings cards donated by members were sold during the afternoon as well as some small artworks.

Councillor Ann Woodward, Chair of the Development and Leisure Committee, commented: “HArts Fest 2025 is set to be a fantastic celebration of art and culture in Hertford. Building on last year’s Harts Fest success, for 2025, we have added literature to the scope of the event. We are so lucky to have a wide range of organisations and businesses dedicated to literature, art and wider cultural activities across the town - Hertford Town Council is working in partnership with them to ensure that HArts Fest delivers a diverse programme that can be enjoyed by people of all ages.”