‘Fierce Feathers’, ambulance trains and surrealism

Simon Colbeck writes about his research on the Penrose family

by Simon Colbeck 11th March 2016

Oxhey Grange, near Watford, was the home of James Doyle Penrose, the artist of two familiar Quaker paintings: The Presence in the Midst and None Shall Make them Afraid (perhaps better known as ‘Fierce Feathers’). His wife Elizabeth Josephine was the daughter of a wealthy Quaker banker, Alexander Peckover of Wisbech, who had been a generous benefactor of Leighton Park School.