Directors, Advisers, The Soper Heritage Art Gallery and Education Centre

The Soper Collection Company Directors and Special Advisers

The Soper Collection Charitable Company ceases at 28.2.24. Please refer to the Home Page and Newsletter 2024.

The Soper Collection, a Charitable Company (No 11222098) and registered charity (No 1179196), has been created to manage the interests of The Soper Collection, establish viewing of the wide ranging artwork and ensure The Soper Collection’s ongoing support and success.

The Soper Collection has three Directors and many Special Advisers, all of whom provide their services on a voluntary basis.

The Directors

Three Directors sit on the board:

Geoffrey C Lindsey-Smith - the Soper Collection

Geoffrey C Lindsey-Smith CEng MICE FIOB

Geoffrey brings specialist business skills and construction experience to The Soper Collection, having previously been Managing Director of Kier London Regional Company before his retirement.

He is the Chairman of the Company.

Joy Baker LRAM RAM Dip

Joy, together with her late husband John, amassed the artwork over a period of 25 years. The Collection now also includes a huge range of Soper family memorabilia. As the driving force behind the Art Gallery and Education Centre, Joy is keen to ensure that this important collection is available for all to enjoy.

Joy taught for several years in England and New Zealand, including directing large-scale school productions. After returning to England with her husband to help found a new family business, they then ran their own antique shop and art gallery, which Joy continued after John’s death. Joy has served as a parish councillor for 37 years. She received the Babergh Community Award in 2014 for services to her local community.

Jane Gosling BA

Jane provides a great deal of heritage experience to the organisation, having helped to form the Suffolk Historic Buildings Group, of which she is now Chairman. She worked for 18 years as the Manager for the National Trust Lavenham Guildhall of Corpus Christi and is currently a Trustee of the Suffolk Architectural Heritage Trust.

As previous General Manager of the Ipswich and Sudbury Enterprise Agency, Jane also brings huge experience in helping small businesses.

Special Advisers

Andrew Haslen SWLA

Artist and Founder of The Wildlife Gallery, Lavenham. Specialist in the works of the Soper family.

Dr Chris Beetles MB BS Hon FRCA

Leading London Art dealer of many traditional British artists and illustrators, including George and Eileen Soper. Co-administrator of The Soper Estate since 1990.

Graham Barker BA FCA

Accountant and Founder of The Wildlife Gallery, Lavenham.

Megan Curry

Picture-framing Consultant.

Ralph Carpenter RIBA East

Special Adviser to the architectural vision of The Soper Heritage Art Gallery and Education Centre.

John Davies

Art Dealer and Artist with a special interest in the works of George Soper.

Robert Gillmor MBE SWLA

Founder Member, past President and Honorary Vice President of the Society of Wildlife Artists and Member of the Institute of East Anglian Artists.

Sadly, Robert Gillmor, player of such an important part in the Soper story, and who designed our lovely LOGO, died in 2022.

Paul Heiney

Writer and Broadcaster and Specialist Adviser on the Working Horse

Jenny Antill LLB

Trustee/Director of Gainsborough’s House 2008 – 2018. Sudbury Town Councillor

Mike Hodges

Photographic and Digital Display Consultant.

Fiona Nickerson MA Cantab

Art Dealer. Co-compiler of The Catalogue Raisonné of Prints and Etchings of George and Eileen Soper (1995). Co-administrator of The Soper Estate since 1990

Bryan Panton OStJ

Photography and Technical Consultant. Former Managing Director of Kalle UK, a subsidiary of a German multi-national company. Member of the St John Ambulance for 32 years, awarded the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 2012 for his work with the First Responder Ambulance Service.

Jeremy Pembroke

Former Leader and Chairman of Suffolk County Council.

Nicholas Pearson OBE FCSI

30-year Member of the London Stock Exchange, Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments and Head of Charity Business Development at Tilney Financial Planning and Investment Advisory Services.

Neil Rutherford BA

Former pupil of the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts and Adviser on Sculpture for The Soper Collection.

Polly Rayner-Woodrow

Polly is an aspiring curator with a particular interest in the Soper Collection’s aims regarding Art History and Art Education. She is involved with database compilation for the collection. She has recently graduated from Nottingham Trent University with a degree in Costume Design and Making, and plans to start her Masters degree in Curating this Autumn.

John Moxom MA Cantab

John has documented and photographed the whole Collection over the past 15 years.
He is a retired Barrister, Inner Temple. Assistant Editor of Kemp & Kemp on The Quantum of Damages. Chairman of St Christopher’s Fellowship, London 1982-1993. For several years Chairman of Belchamp St Paul Parish Council, Chairman of Belchamp Community House Trustees, and Vice Chairman of Governors of Belchamp St Paul C. of E. Primary School.

David Wootton MA PGCE

Researcher and writer on British art. Author of The Art of George and Eileen Soper (1995) and The Catalogue Raisonné of Prints and Etchings of George and Eileen Soper (1995). Adviser on The Art of George and Eileen Soper to The Soper Collection.

Vicki Woodrow

Currently a teacher and Head of Creative Design at Ormiston Sudbury Academy. Adviser to The Soper Collection as an Educational Consultant so that students at the Ormiston Sudbury Academy and elsewhere can benefit from this excellent educational resource.

John O’Mahony

A retired police officer with a special interest in World War I, John is a Special Adviser and expert on George Soper’s World War One art.

Craig Rayner

Currently a teacher at Ormiston Sudbury Academy and helping The Soper Collection as an Educational Consultant. A keen promoter of literacy, numeracy, technical and creative subjects within which to engage children’s learning.

Fiona Pearson

Experienced Volunteer, working with charities in senior positions for many years.

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