About

The Painter-Stainers’ Livery Company will be running a series of demonstrations and talks that showcase the expertise and professional experience of an exclusive selection of members, whose various practices range across the whole spectrum of craft, decoration and restoration.

They have experts in pigment making, wood graining, marbling and trompe l’oeil, fine-art picture framing, gilding, chinoiserie, japanning, wallpaper restoration and stencilling, calligraphy and manuscript illumination. They even have an artist who has specialised in the original, medieval picture-making technique of ‘staining,’ from which the Company derives its name.

Such deep roots tie the exhibitors to a shared tradition of hard-won skill, critical rigour and fastidious aesthetic judgement. On display is not only a demonstration of the ability to fashion beautiful and intriguing objects but also a critical understanding of where such products and processes sit within the canon of art and design. In their specific creative vocations, our makers and craftspeople reveal much that is interesting about history and culture – the drives and obsessions born out of the churn and change of a dynamic mercantile system that demanded excellence, innovation and virtuoso performance and continues to do so.

The event will be complemented by a panel discussion on the art and challenge of conservation / restoration, and the Company is delighted to announce the participation of Lucia Scalisi from television’s ’The Repair Shop,’ who will join three other specialists on the panel – all four Company members.

There will also be tours of our Hall highlighting the decorative painting and gilding by past and present Company members.

All this will take place at the historic Painters’ Hall in the heart of the City of London, a stone’s throw from St Paul’s Cathedral, the Mansion House and the Royal Exchange.