For his one-man show at the Wallace Collection in 2025, Grayson Perry created an imaginary character named Shirley Smith; a self-taught artist from the East End of London, who considered herself to be “the thwarted legitimate heiress” to the Wallace Collection.

“Shirley Smith was obsessed by her family tree. Here, the impressive collection of miniatures from the Wallace Collection are imagined as a family tree... The face in the bark? Well, that’s me.”

Grayson Perry