A PAINTING of of one of the world's first acknowledged transvestites - that belonged to the Lowther Estate - has gone on display at the Metropolitan Museum of New York.

The painting of the Chevalier d'Eon by Jean Paul Mosnier is owned by Jim Lowther from Lowther Castle.

A spokeswoman for the Lowther Estate said: "A few months ago, a telephone call came to the office at Lowther Castle. It was from the Metropolitan Museum in New York. A breathless curator said that he had just discovered that the Lowther Estate owned the original painting of one of the world’s first acknowledged transvestites and could the Met borrow it for an exhibition based on Susan Sontag’s 1960’s essay entitled Notes on Camp.

"The answer from Jim Lowther, owner of the painting of the Chevalier d’Éon by Jean-Paul Mosnier, was an emphatic yes."

Fast forward to a few months later and on last week's news was Lady Gaga, along with the grand and glamorous of New York society, dressed to the nines and dressed to kill.

The spokeswoman added: "Suddenly the team at Lowther realised that the exhibition – and this amazing Lowther-owned painting – was at the centre of a heart-stopping extravaganza."

Vanessa Lowther, Jim’s wife, who went to the preview of the exhibition with her daughters Matilda and Ishbel, said the whole thing was a wonderful spectacle.

“The show was beautifully curated. We were so impressed.”

Ishbel and Mathilda went to the sponsors’ – Gucci – after-party.

Vanessa said: "It was star-studded and they had a ball. Meanwhile that curator was over the moon – in the first few hours of the exhibition being open, 2,000 visitors went through. This, a record for the Met."

The exhibition features more than 250 objects dating from the seventeenth century to the present.

The Costume Institute's spring 2019 exhibition explores the origins of camp's exuberant aesthetic.

Sontag's 1964 essay "Notes on 'Camp'" provides the framework for the exhibition, which examines how the elements of irony, humor, parody, pastiche, artifice, theatricality, and exaggeration are expressed in fashion.

Lowther Castle, near Penrith, – along with its treasures – was voted by Cumbria Tourism as its Large Visitor Attraction of the Year in 2018.

The castle, its gardens, its exhibition The Story of Lowther were recognised as an up-and-coming attraction – one that holds interest and treasures for visitors from far and near.

Indeed, the Chevalier d’Eon – in replica – is a central part of the exhibition.