Queen Elizabeth II acquires Annigoni portrait

Her Majesty the Queen has acquired a portrait by Pietro Annigoni – the portrait shows Her Majesty in the robes of the Order of the British Empire.

Pietro Annigoni was commissioned by the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery to paint a new portrait of the Queen in 1969 following the success of his earlier portrait of The Queen wearing the robes of the Order of the Garter painted for the Fishmongers’ Company in 1954.

“I did not want to paint her as a film star; I saw her as a monarch, alone in the problems of her responsibility,” said the artist when the portrait was unveiled in 1970.

The 1969 Annigoni portrait is one of around 130 official portraits of Queen Elizabeth II and is currently on display at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace.

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