Naftel original is the perfect present from Helen’s parents

Castle Cornet is among the sites for which Helen Glencross is responsible.

Her parents, Roger and Jehanne Browning, knew their daughter had a soft spot for the castle, so when they saw the painting come up for sale, they knew it would be a great gift.

‘I first read about it coming up for sale in the Guernsey Press,’ Mrs Browning said. ‘The words just seemed to jump out of the page at me. Helen’s favourite place is Castle Cornet and she is head of heritage services – it was just perfect.’

Paul Jacob Naftel was an artist in the 1800s. The painting, which is a view of Castle Cornet from the grounds of Belvedere House and Fort George before 1859, was being auctioned in June, having previously belonged to someone who used to live in Guernsey.

The estimated sale price was between £200 and £300, but the Brownings paid £600.

Mrs Browning said they had never bought anything at auction before, but UK auction house Ewbank’s Auctioneers had talked them through the process.

‘It was an amazing opportunity to get it for Helen,’ she said.

‘It was hard to keep quiet [for two months, until her birthday].’

Mrs Glencross had no idea what was in the well-wrapped box on her birthday, initially guessing that it might be a sunbed.

Her mother said her daughter was a bit speechless when she opened the box. ‘It was the last thing she expected,’ she said. ‘We were excited to give it to her.’

Mrs Glencross said it was a wonderful gift.

‘I was both surprised and delighted to receive such a lovely painting and I feel privileged to be its new keeper,’ she said. ‘We have many paintings by Naftel in the museum’s collections so I intend to bring it into work and try and find out some more about this one.’

Mrs Browning said she was relieved to discover that Guernsey Museum had not tried to buy the painting at the auction. She added that after this year’s big gift, her daughter might have to settle for something smaller, perhaps a box of chocolates, next year.