THE founder of a Glasgow fine art academy has been announced as the new ambassador for the Prince’s Foundation at Dumfries House.

Sarah Gibson is a renowned artist in her own right as well as being co-founder of the Glasgow Academy of Fine Art.

In her new role, Sarah, a 33-year-old Cincinnati native who now lives in Ayr, will promote the charity’s work in curating and maintaining the collection at its East Ayrshire headquarters as well as programmes and projects in traditional arts, traditional building skills, and the built environment.

Sarah said: “What the Foundation is doing at Dumfries House is truly incredible, both for the local community and for students of its training programmes in traditional crafts and architecture.

“I believe that the classical approach to teaching art is highly compatible with the history and the collection at Dumfries House, and I see many opportunities for cross-pollination between my work as a teacher and the various training programmes that take place at the estate.”

Sarah will work closely with collections manager Satinder Kaur to promote the paintings and artworks that can be enjoyed by those on tours of the country house.

Students on The Prince’s Foundation courses already draw inspiration from the charity’s headquarters of Dumfries House estate and Sarah says she is keen to add her expertise to that process.

She said: “Something that is sorely lacking in modern architectural education is an emphasis on drawing from life — and drawing accurately at that,” she explains. “You can clearly see from the design of Dumfries House that its architects all knew how to draw and looked to natural forms for inspiration.

“I see part of my role as an ambassador here to bridge that gap, so designers can tap into that traditional practice of weaving an organic quality into their architecture — taking inspiration in proportion, shape and form from the natural world.”