We are delighted to announce that the Merchant Taylors’ Company has unveiled the new portrait of The Rt Hon. The Lord Mayor Alderman Nicholas Lyons in the Merchant Taylors’ Hall this week.

Alderman Nicholas Lyons was elected as The Lord Mayor of the City of London on 29 September 2022. The Merchant Taylors’ Company commissioned the portrait last year to commemorate The Lord Mayor’s service, specifically during the King’s Coronation.

The artist, Simon Watkins said, “It was a very great honour and pleasure to paint the Lord Mayor of London’s portrait for the Merchant Taylors’ Company. Our sittings took place in the glorious setting of the old ballroom of Mansion House, which has wonderful light. With the Coronation Robes and Crystal Sceptre carried at the King’s coronation, it is a portrait of an historic moment, but I hope it is simultaneously a characterful portrait of a dynamic individual. The City of London is a fascinating mixture of the historical and the cutting edge, looking back while moving forward. The art of portraiture has a similar balancing act: informed by a great tradition with some of history’s finest painters, one still must paint people as they live and breathe today.”

Portrait of The Rt Hon. The Lord Mayor Alderman Nicholas Lyons by Simon Watkins, 2024