Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family: Portrait images and photographs found in the Bridgeman Images Archive.
The Queen will become the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee after 70 years of service. The celebration will take place from Thursday 2nd June to Sunday 5th June 2022.
Elizabeth was born into royalty as the daughter of the second son of King George V. After her uncle Edward VIII abdicated the throne in 1936, Elizabeth's father became King George VI and she became the heir presumptive. Queen Elizabeth II has reigned over decades and has tried to make her realm more modern and sensitive in order to serve the changing public. Traditions long associated with the crown have been well maintained. In light of this historic Jubilee event, Bridgeman Images would like to present to you a series of portrait images and photographs featuring the royal family with a special focus on Queen Elizabeth II.
Amongst these images, you will find a selection of works by Lucian Freud, Dame Laura Knight, Andy Warhol, Jonathan Yeo and Christian Furr.
Lucian Freud
Queen Elizabeth II, 2000-2001 (oil on canvas)
Lucian Michael Freud OM CH was a British painter and draughtsman, specialising in figurative art. Freud is one of the late twentieth century's most celebrated artists; his style throughout his career was remarkably consistent. Freud’s painting of her Majesty the Queen is thickly impastoed. Gestural brush mark movements have been used and the flat space of colour caught instantly. The skin tone is not blended; unfinished in appearance. Freud’s palette consisted of greens and yellows to create highly specific flesh tones. The fragmented brush strokes on the Queen’s face lend this image to one of Expressionism. The looser brushwork provides a richer application of colour. As well as with the Queen’s presence in this image, Freud believed that his presence was implicit - his works of art including portraits also echo an autobiographical aspect.
Andy Warhol
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, from ‘Reigning Queens’, 1985 (colour screenprint on Lenox museum board)
Andy Warhol created a series of vibrant screen prints of Elizabeth II entitled Reigning Queens, which included Queen Ntombi of Swaziland, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and Queen Margarethe of Denmark. The prints are reminiscent of postage stamps, reflecting the sheer quantity of images that exist of the Queen. Each print however holds a unique, separate identity. Warhol’s depiction of the Queen in these repetitive prints reinvigorated the traditional presentation of royalty.
Anne Storno
Queen, 2015 (mixed media)
Anne Storno is a printmaker and mixed media artist based in London. In Storno’s artworks, images are combined, removed from their original narrative context, and reconfigured into a new scenario. The work is based on a collage which was later transformed into a hand made screen print. This composition features a central portrait of a young Queen Elizabeth II. As she gazes out towards the viewer, symbols of London surround her - including The Shard, The London Eye and Banksy's Balloon Girl. The background consists of a pattern set against a bright beaming yellow. This pop of colour is reminiscent of pop art and the imagery displayed here is flat. Storno has commented on her interest in testing colour relationships and her use of appropriating visual themes and incorporating them as printed motifs.
Dame Laura Knight
Dame Laura Knight, DBE RA RWS was an English artist who worked in oils, etching, watercolours, engraving and drypoint. Knight was a painter in the figurative, realist tradition. This portrait of the Queen has been created by using soft pastels. Red and grey colours have been used to represent neutrality and balance. When combined together, the two colours create tones of light blush - as seen on Elizabeth's cheeks. This is a simple, youthful portrait, which contrasts nicely with the more typical and lavish depictions of royalty in art.
Jonathan Yeo Portraits:
Jonathan Yeo is a British contemporary artist who rose to prominence in his early 20s. Throughout his career, Yeo has painted Dennis Hopper, Cara Delevingne, Tony Blair, Prince Phillip and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. His remarkable portraits are developed using digital printing methods. He experiments with hand finishing through the use of varnish, gilding or acrylic paint. Adjustments are then made to the digital images in the pre-printed stage.
Lydia De Burgh
Lydia De Burgh is a crafted commercial painter, educated in the Byem Shaw School of Art in 1952. De Burgh is well known for painting portraits of the Queen as well as other members of the Royal Family. Lydia's work has been shown in the Northern Ireland Office, the Ulster Museum, the Sportman's Gallery, New York and Rowland Ward. De Burgh has painted Her Majesty The Queen and other members of the Royal Family from sittings.
Christian Furr
English painter Christian Furr was commissioned by the Royal Overseas League to paint Queen Elizabeth II in 1995. The portrait now hangs on permanent display at the Royal Overseas League headquarters in London where it is viewable to the public.
With every portrait, I aim to capture the soul's reality or 'essence' or 'aura' in paint crystallising it for centuries.
The procedure of having your portrait painted itself causes you to focus on your life at the moment rather than hurrying past it.
Photographs of the Queen and The Royal Family:
Bridgeman Images has a collection of rare black and white photographs of the Royal Family. Footage is also available and has been utilised in programmes such as The Queen Unseen documentary which premiered on ITV.
Click here for relevant video clips.
Start your search on the Bridgeman Images archive here - photography, artwork and video