Warhol prints join Jubilee exhibition

Published on 25/09/2012 03:24

Artist Andy Warhol, who once said he wanted to be “as famous as the Queen of England”, has had four of his portraits of the Queen acquired by the Royal Collection.

Fittingly, as the Queen celebrates her Diamond Jubilee year, the works – created in 1985, just two years before the artist’s death – are sprinkled with diamond dust.

They will be displayed in the exhibition The Queen: Portraits Of A Monarch from 23 November at Windsor Castle.

The brightly coloured images, which include one in electric blue and another in neon pink, are screenprints each measuring 39in by 31.5in (100cm x 80cm).

As in many of his other famed works, Warhol used an earlier photo to create his portrait, in this case an image taken in April 1975 by photographer Peter Grugeon, which was widely used during the Silver Jubilee celebrations two years later.

The portraits were created as part of the Reigning Queens series, in which Warhol depicted the four ruling queens of the time: Elizabeth II, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Queen Margrethe of Denmark and Queen Ntombi Twala of Swaziland.

The images acquired are from the “Royal Edition” of the prints, coated with the shimmering powdered particles of diamond and crushed glass.

The new exhibition will highlight the many different ways the Queen has been represented throughout her six decades on the throne. It will continue until 9 June next year.