Now that's an old master! How care home has transformed its residents into classic works of art

Fund-raising calendars frequently feature ordinary people stripping down to their birthday suits.

But the residents of an Oxford care home have – perhaps more classily – done the opposite and dressed up to pose for photos recreating famous paintings.

Wearing borrowed costumes and using makeshift props, 14 elderly residents volunteered to be in MHA Brookfield's 2022 calendar to raise money for creative activities.

Andrew Reese, 57, who is the cover star in a recreation of a self-portrait by Jan van Eyck, said: 'A tablecloth and some fur was used for my costume. I really enjoyed being a part of this – it was fun.'

Activity co-ordinator Victoria Davidson said the images 'just make you smile', adding: 'We'd seen the idea online and thought it would be a great way of having fun. It will help to raise funds for future activities at the home.' 

The pictures were taken by volunteer Rebecca Phillipson, who photoshopped them into the backgrounds of the original paintings.

Describing how residents Win and Bob got their costumes for Grant Wood's American Gothic, Miss Davidson said: 'They are wearing my dad's shirt, my brother-in-law's jacket, my partner's dungarees, my daughter's glasses and an old tabard we found in the cupboard. They loved it.'

Many residents have taken up arts to 'relax and unwind' since arriving at the home, which provides nursing and dementia care for 66, said Miss Davidson.

She added the £12 calendars had been selling 'like hotcakes'.

The recreated paintings include work by Rembrandt van Rijn, Paul Cezanne, Frida Kahlo and Amedeo Modigliani, as well as a portrait of Elizabeth I from the late 1500s.