A newly commissioned portrait of Sir Andrew Wiles, the mathematician who proved ‘Fermat’s last theorem’ after it had baffled scientists for centuries, has been unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery, it was announced today (Tuesday 14 July 2015.) The four-by-three foot portrait is by London artist Rupert Alexander, who has painted the Queen and members of the Royal Family. One of the five sittings for the painting, in oil on canvas, took place at Merton College, University of Oxford, where Sir Andrew is Royal Society Research Professor, specialising in number theory. The other four took place at the artist’s London studio. ‘Using a palette of blues and greens,’ says Rosie Broadley, Associate Curator, National Portrait Gallery, London, ‘Rupert Alexander has achieved a nocturnal and ethereal effect that he felt was appropriate for his sitter’s important yet esoteric

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