Andy Warhol screenprint of Queen Elizabeth II among works on show at exhibition
Royal Portraits: A Century Of Photography is taking place at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
A screenprint of the late Queen Elizabeth II by artist Andy Warhol is among dozens of images of the royal family which will go on display in Edinburgh on Friday.
Royal Portraits: A Century Of Photography will run from February 28 until September 7 at The King’s Gallery in the Palace of Holyroodhouse, having previously being exhibited at Buckingham Palace.
The exhibition chronicles the evolution of royal portrait photography from the 1920s until the coronation of the King in 2023, with more than 90 prints, proofs and documents from the Royal Collection and the Royal Archives.
Many images are being shown in Scotland for the first time, and all the photographs are vintage prints – the originals – including from the golden age of the society photographer in the 1920s and 1930s.
The earliest surviving colour print of a member of the royal family was taken by Madame Yevonde, a pioneer of the craft in 1935, showing Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester – and sister-in-law to King George VI and Edward VIII – on her wedding day.
Among the standout photographs in the exhibition are those taken to mark milestone birthdays, including “coming of age” images of Princess Anne to mark her 21st birthday in 1971 taken by Norman Parkinson in Frogmore House gardens.
Some of Cecil Beaton’s most memorable photographs, taken over 60 years, are on show including original coronation portraits of Queen Elizabeth II.
A dramatic image of the royal in the countryside at Balmoral Estate taken by Julian Calder in 2010 shows her wearing the mantle of the Order of the Thistle and was inspired by paintings of clan chiefs.
The Queen Mother’s famed 1939 shoot in the Buckingham Palace gardens, dressed in gowns designed by Norman Hartnell, will also be on display.
Images of Princess Margaret, taken by her husband Lord Snowdon before and after their marriage in 1960, form another section of the exhibition.
A photograph taken in 1966 to mark the 18th birthday of Charles – then the Prince of Wales – shows him dressed in a kilt in Balmoral tartan in the library of Balmoral Castle, and was taken by Godfrey Argent.
Later 20th century photographs and more recent portraits include Andy Warhol’s diamond dust-sprinkled screen print of the late Queen, and well-known fashion photos by David Bailey, Nick Knight and Annie Leibovitz.
The exhibition concludes with the official coronation portraits taken by Hugo Burnand in May 2023.
Alessandro Nasini, curator of the exhibition, said: “Portrait photography is a creative process, and it has been fascinating to discover the careful decisions that were made to achieve such unforgettable portraits of the royal family, taken by some of the most celebrated photographers of the past century – from Dorothy Wilding and Cecil Beaton to David Bailey and Glasgow-born Rankin.
“Although we may be used to seeing photographs on screens, the opportunity to see the original prints up close is rare, as they can’t often be on display for conservation reasons.
“With archival material providing context into how these photographs were made and used, I hope visitors will enjoy going behind the scenes into the process of creating royal portraits.”
