Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Location

Country: USA
City: New York
Place: British Consulate-General

Andy Warhol's iconic image of Queen Elizabeth II hovers between the formality of a traditional portrait and the brashness of modern advertising. Each colourful contour is sprinkled with diamond dust, playfully mixing regality with commercialism. The portrait forms part of the series, 'Reigning Queens', which was based on one of Queen Elizabeth's official Silver Jubilee portraits of 1977.

From portraits of Marilyn Monroe to multiple images of Campbell's Soup tins, Warhol is best known for his use of familiar images and photographs. Blurring the boundaries between fine art and popular culture, he utilised the technique of screenprinting to reproduce images in different colour combinations, transforming their appearance each time. Arguably one of the most famous artists of the twentieth century, Warhol's persona and celebrity were always closely associated with his work. This portrait of the Queen is unmistakenly a 'Warhol'.

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

board, screenprint

Artist

Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987)

Title

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Portfolio Title

Reigning Queens

Edition

3/40

Date

1985

Medium

Screenprint on Lenox Museum Board

Dimensions

height: 100.00 cm, width: 80.00 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Sotheby's, 25 March 2003

Inscription

br: 3/40 Andy Warhol

Provenance

Sold through Sotheby's, London, on 25 March 2003 (Lot 217); from which sale purchased by the Government Art Collection

GAC number

17777