Books

Ryder and her husband, Martin Bates, were at Berwick Railway Station, in Northumberland shortly to board an express train south to London. Martin, having had an operation on his back, was in a wheelchair: the main reason for the couple’s journey south was to have a meeting with his surgeon to assess his progress. The porter had wheeled them to the waiting room, and promised to come back to help them on to the train when it arrived. They were not alone: also sitting there was an American couple, with whom they began chatting. Nothing consequential: no names were swapped, or anything like that. The couple revealed they had a holiday house near Melrose in the Scottish Borders, and were on their way back to the USA, via London. Ryder and Martin told them their home, north of the border in Berwickshire, was not far away.

The Americans kindly helped get Martin and their luggage onto the platform, and when the porter arrived to assist him onto the train, they all said their goodbyes and headed off to their reserved seats.

Unknown to Ryder at this point, the Americans, Mark and Cameil Moorman, were great lovers of art. Before they got their flight, they had an appointment at Panter and Hall Gallery on Pall Mall in London. They had reserved a painting they had found online and fallen in love with, and wanted to see it in the flesh before completing the purchase. The painting was called Oak Room Chair with Violets, and it was by… Susan Ryder. After the transaction was happily completed, they asked if they could find out more about the painter, and Matthew Hall pulled out a catalogue of Ryder’s latest show to give them.

Leafing through the catalogue, largely featuring images of Ryder’s exquisitely painted neo-impressionist interiors, they saw a photograph of Ryder, standing at her easel. ‘Hey!’ said Cameil, in amazement. ‘Isn’t that the lady we saw this morning at Berwick Railway Station?’ ‘Highly likely,’ said Hall.’ She lives up there, and I know she’s coming down to London this week!’ He immediately rang Ryder, and just a few hours after saying their goodbyes 350 miles north of London, their acquaintance was renewed.’

The next time the Moormans came to England, they paid a visit to Ryder’s house, and got to sit in the very oak chair that was portrayed in the painting they had bought. The two couples have become friends and, following the Covid pandemic, the Moormans have commissioned Ryder to paint a double portrait of themselves, as well as individual portraits of their three children, two of whom have since travelled over the Atlantic for that purpose.