Meet Samuel Chatto's Fine Art graduate girlfriend Eleanor Ekserdjian
Lady Sarah Chatto's eldest son, Sam, turned heads on Christmas day as he made an appearance with his rarely-seen girlfriend, Eleanor Ekserdjian.
The pair were photographed looking festive as they joined King Charles, Queen Camilla and other senior royals at St. Mary Magdalene Church on the monarch's Norfolk estate, Sandringham.
Exuding elegance, Eleanor looked picture-perfect dressed in a chic black dress, a longline oatmeal-hued coat and a smart beret. Sam, 28, meanwhile, wrapped up warm in a chocolate-brown coat and the colourful Highgrove scarf, several of which King Charles gifted to members of the royal family last year.
Although Sam is incredibly private when it comes to his personal life, keep scrolling to find out more about his new love…
Who is Eleanor Ekserdjian?
Eleanor describes herself as an "abstract painter and film artist." A description on her website reads: "Ekserdjian's practice involves projecting the moving image onto paper or canvas and drawing from and over it, her physical and emotional responses being made visible through rapid mark-making.
"These paintings and drawings become lyrical landscapes which explore her evolving emotional response to the film."
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She attended the University of Edinburgh where she graduated in Fine Art and subsequently attended the Royal Drawing School. Eleanor undertook a six-week residency in Armenia and has since showcased her work in numerous galleries including London's Redfern Gallery, Gallery 286 and Seen Fifteen Gallery.
Eleanor's father, Professor David Ekserdjian, is a renowned art historian who currently serves as Professor of History of Art and Film at the University of Leicester. Her mother, Susan Moore, is also in the art world and works as an art critic at the Financial Times.
Sam's journey as a ceramicist
Sam, meanwhile, has carved out a successful career as a ceramicist. After graduating from the University of Edinburgh where he studied History of Art, he joined the Royal Drawing School and later set up his own ceramics studio in East Sussex.
In 2022, he undertook a Make Hauser & Wirth residency in Scotland where he developed his pit fired 'Cut Vessels.' In 2023, he travelled further afield to Kyoto, Japan, where he completed an apprenticeship with porcelain master, Yagi Akira.
Speaking to the Daily Mail in 2019 about his passion, Sam explained: "I've always had a strong affinity with creating objects, having spent much of my childhood crafting imagined landscapes and sculptural models, which naturally led me to clay during my later years at school."
The 28-year-old hails from an artistic family. His grandfather, Lord Snowdon, was a successful photographer, his mother, Lady Sarah, studied at the Camberwell School of Art and later at the Royal Academy Schools, and his father, Daniel, works as an artist.
