Painting A Queen

Queen Elizabeth, II
By William Dargie

Did you know the Queen of England, Elizabeth the Second, is the most reproduced face in history with over with over 100 portrait paintings of her? This portrait by William Dargie, 1912 -2003, nicknamed "The Wattle", after the flowers at her shoulder, is her favorite. It was painted after a 1954 official royal trip to Australia which included sitting for a formal portrait. She liked the portrait so much that she asked for a copy of it be made for her. It now hangs in her private residence with the Queen still telling folks it's her favorite. Few portraits painted of the Queen stay in her possession. 

I found this really interesting You Tube showing many of her portraits. Wonderful how the painted portrait has recorded her life from young girl to elder Royal Sovereign. I won't say which portraits I don't think did the Queen justice.

All I do know it The Wattle is fantastic. All that yellow, so beautifully handled. The Queen looks like I will forever think of her.