Artistic License
If one were to relax in the Cinnamon Drawing Room at Harewood House, one could begin to conjure up an image of the grand lives that were led in this famous house centuries ago. For starters the walls are sheathed in rich, cinnamon coloured damask that glints in the daylight, while many of the chairs in the room were made by the great Thomas Chippendale.
It is the paintings on the walls that truly highlight the supposed status of the house’s original owner Edwin Lascelles and his family, however. A Joshua Reynolds portrait of Lascelles shows him in a scarlet suit ordained with gold brocade as he surveys his estate with Harewood House in the distance under a setting sun. Lascelle’s cousin Edward is depicted in blue satin and lace by the Flemish master Anthony van Dyck, while his stepdaughter, Lady Harrington, is painted
