Special Object of the Month: May 2026

Bryan Organ (b. 1935)
'Attenborough in Paradise'
(Portrait of Sir David Attenborough)
Oil painting on canvas, 2016
Commissioned by the City of Leicester Museums Trust, 2016

This painting has been chosen as a special Object of the Month for May 2026 to mark the 100th birthday of Sir David Attenborough, the renowned broadcaster and naturalist.

Sir David was born on 8th May 1926 in Isleworth, West London, but grew up in College House on the campus of the University College, Leicester, where his father, Frederick, was principal.

He spent many happy hours at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery, and was especially inspired by the museum’s Charnia fossil, the first Precambrian fossil to be identified. Talking in 2010 of finding fossils in his youth, Sir David said:

“of course I wanted to know what they were. So, I brought them here to the museum… The influence of this museum had a profound effect on my career”.

The Special Object of the Month can be seen in person throughout May 2026 at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery.