Margot Gillespie

Margot Gillespie is a British portrait painter based in Florence, Italy. She began her studies in Fine Art at the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, in 2019, graduating in 2023. Following her interest in portraiture, Margot moved to Florence to continue her training at the Charles H. Cecil Studios, where she developed her practice through the study of traditional portraiture and painting directly from life. Her work is centred on the relationship between painter and sitter. Working from life using the sight-size method, she is interested in the process of sustained observation and in capturing not only a sitter's likeness, but something of their individual presence and character. Margot continues to live and work in Florence, painting portraits from life and undertaking private commissions.