Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Location

Country: USA
City: Washington DC
Place: British Embassy

Andy Warhol's iconic image of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II hovers between the formality of a traditional portrait and the brashness of modern advertising. The photograph on which the image is based is an official Jubilee portrait taken in 1977. This vibrant screenprint is one of a number of portraits of Elizabeth II from a series by Warhol entitled Reigning Queens, which also includes images of the Queens of Denmark and the Netherlands. The technique of screenprinting enabled him to repeat the image with different colour combinations. Each block of colour is slightly misaligned, suggesting the imperfections of mass-produced commercial images.

Andy Warhol, one of the most important artists of the twentieth century, was born Andrew Warhola to Czechoslovakian parents in Pittsburgh. He studied painting and drawing at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh between 1945 and 1949, before becoming a highly successful commercial advertising artist in the 1950s.

Andy Warhol, one of the most important artists of the twentieth century, was born to Czechoslovakian parents in Pittsburgh, USA. He studied painting and drawing at the Carnegie Institute of Technology between 1945 and 1949, before becoming a highly successful commercial advertising artist in the 1950s. Pop Art’s origins lay in the reaction to Abstract Expressionism found in the mid 1950s As his art developed over the 1960s, he fused the over-used images of popular culture, mass production, Hollywood glamour and the media with notions of what constituted ‘fine art’. His infamous personality brought him as much fame as his art or films. This portrait is one of his later works, made in 1985, shortly before his death in 1987 from a complication during routine surgery.

People

Elizabeth II (1926 - 2022)

Places

Subjects

female portrait, royal portrait, Pop Art, Queen

Materials & Techniques

diamond dust, board, screenprint

Artist

Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987)

Title

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Portfolio Title

Reigning Queens (Royal Edition)

Edition

Printer's Proof 1/2

Date

1985

Medium

Screenprint with diamond dust on Lenox Museum Board

Dimensions

height: 100.00 cm, width: 80.00 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Sotheby's, 2 July 2002

Inscription

br: R PP1/2 Andy Warhol

Provenance

Sotheby's, Bond Street, London, 2 July 2002 (Lot 243)

GAC number

17714