DNA fingerprinting pioneer immortalised on canvas

Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys – one our most esteemed academics and the pioneer of DNA fingerprinting – is the subject of a new portrait unveiled in our Department of Genetics.

The 24" x 30" oil painting was created by prominent artist Tess Barnes, and shows Professor Jeffreys sitting in his lab, with images from his work and hobbies appearing in the background.

Professor Jeffreys is famous for inventing DNA fingerprinting in Leicester in 1984, and was approached by Ms Barnes to be a part of her new project 'Drawn to Science', which features portraits of prominent scientists. Professor Jeffreys sat for six sessions with Ms Barnes in order to complete the preliminary sketches and the painting, which was unveiled in the Department of Genetics in May.

Tess Barnes is a portrait artist who has painted and drawn such famous figures as Carol Vorderman, Beverley Knight, Dame Jacqueline Wilson, and Michael Portillo. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and was Artist in Residence at the Royal Institution from July 2009 until July 2011.