As well as being a member respected member of the royal family, Lady Sarah Chatto is a wonderful artist, a gift she shares with her eldest son, Samuel. Now, the 61-year-old, along with bass guitarist turned-artist John Illsley and world-renowned illustrator of children’s books, Quentin Blake, are among 70 artists donating works to raise funds for the charity Horatio’s Garden. The UK charity creates beautiful and accessible gardens in hospitals across the UK for people adjusting after a life-changing spinal injury and their family and friends.
Talking about the project, Sarah said: "Art is such an important creative focus in Horatio’s Gardens for patients with spinal injuries. I am really delighted to be able to help the charity to raise vital funds for people facing life-changing injuries." Her works have been described as: "abstract landscapes and interior scenes, drawing inspiration from the natural textures of the world around her. Her work is distinguished by a keen sensitivity to light, mood and the shifting qualities of time and weather, which she captures in oil on canvas and in watercolour."
© Lady Sarah ChattoSarah's artistic education
Lady Sarah attained her art education at the Camberwell School of Art, before progressing to the prestigious Royal Academy Schools. During her time at the RA, she received significant recognition, winning the Winsor & Newton Prize in 1988 and the Creswick Landscape Prize in 1990. Since 1995, she has held regular solo exhibitions at the Redfern Gallery in London, establishing a strong and consistent presence in the London art scene. For the auction, Sarah has kindly donated a work titled Studio Window, a colourful oil on canvas, which dates from 2023.
Family talent
© InstagramLady Sarah's natural talent for art has been passed down to her 29-year-old son, Samuel. After being educated at Eton College, Sam completed his degree in History of Art at the University of Edinburgh. After university, Samuel completed a six-week apprenticeship at North Shore Pottery and, in 2020, completed a course at the Royal Drawing School. Samuel currently lives in West Sussex, where his home doubles as his personal ceramics studio. But he has just been overseas in Oslo showcasing his latest works.
The artist has amassed an impressive 89,000 followers on Instagram, where he regularly showcases his creative masterpieces, which he also sells on his official website. Back in 2019, Samuel told the Daily Mail:" I've always had a strong affinity with creating objects, having spent much of my childhood crafting imagined landscapes and sculptural models, which naturally led me to clay during my later years at school. My creative practice took a back seat while I studied History of Art at Edinburgh, but was revived in the summer of 2017 by a visit to North Shore Pottery [in Caithness].
"Inspired by what I had seen in Scotland, and completely uninspired by my three-month job in the commercial art market, I spent my weekends setting up a small home studio to rediscover my creativity and built a wood-fired kiln at the bottom of my garden." He added:"The decision to start selling my work comes from a strong belief in the power of beautiful, well-made objects to enrich and enhance our lives."
