This painting which is certain to provoke discussion throughout the world will occupy a place of honour at the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition which opens at Burlington House, London, on 3 May 1958. It is an almost revolutionary departure from all previous representations of the Queen; it turns away from fairy tale romanticism and presents to the viewer a Queen of impressive majesty. It shows her mature and self confident, no longer merely a beautiful young woman but now in every sense a sovereign and head of a great nation and Commonwealth. The features are characteristically Windsor, much like the Princess Royal, the Queen's aunt; her bearing vividly calls to mind the Royal dignity of the late Queen Mary, her grandmother. The Queen, in an iridescent sheath dress (she first wore it during a state visit to the United States in 1957) wears the blue sash of the Order of the Garter, a delicate tiara and, in a manner that might revive a fashion, she holds in her right hand a fan. The Queen sat for the painter at Buckingham Palace, posing on the one occasion for one and a half hours. The position her Majesty chosen was near a window overlooking the Mall; the passing scene, one of the pleasantest settings in London, never failed to hold her interest and cause lively comment. The painting was commissioned by the Honourable Artillery Company of which her Majesty is Captain General. The painter, Anthony Devas, ARA, RP, who is [?] 47, has been prominent among English portraitists for many years. Painting by Anthony Devas, please acknowledge
Agency: Camera Press London
