Portrait of benfactor to be unveiled
A portrait of Viscount Marcus Samuel will be unveiled tomorrow (Saturday) at Mote House by Lord Bearsted’s great-grandson Nicholas, the 5th Lord Bearsted.
The picture was discovered in the store of Maidstone Museum and shows Sir Marcus in his robes as Lord Mayor of London in 1903.
Sir Marcus lived at Mote House and made an Honorary Freeman of Maidstone. He founded the Shell Transport and Trading Company and built the first fleet of bulk oil carriers.
He was an important supporter of the Maidstone Museum, who benefited in 1923 when he donated a large sum of money to establish the Bearsted Gallery within the museum.
He also gifted the large and valuable Japanese Collection of art, artefacts and ceramics to the museum widely regarded as one of the most important collections in the United Kingdom outside the Victoria and Albert Museum.