Queen Elizabeth II

1 portrait of Queen Elizabeth II

© Karsh / Camera Press

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Queen Elizabeth II

by Yousuf Karsh
cibachrome print, 1966
13 1/2 in. x 10 3/8 in. (343 mm x 263 mm)
Given by the photographer, Yousuf Karsh, 1987
Primary Collection
NPG P339

Sitterback to top

Artistback to top

  • Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002), Photographer. Artist or producer associated with 159 portraits, Sitter in 2 portraits.

Linked publicationsback to top

  • Moorhouse, Paul and Cannadine, David (appreciation), The Queen: Art and Image, 2011 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 17 May to 21 October 2012), p. 79 Read entry

    A Canadian photographer of Armenian extraction, Yousuf Karsh photographed the Queen on four occasions over a period of forty years. This photograph, which belongs to the third session, in 1966, emphasises the sitter's regal splendour. The Queen is shown wearing the Russian fringe tiara (a gift to Princess Alexandra in 1888) and the Garter Sash and Star. Pinned to the sash are Royal Family Orders of George V and George VI.

  • Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 202

Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top

Portrait setback to top

Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1966back to top

Current affairs

The English football team wins against West Germany at the World Cup Final in Wembley.
144 people, including 116 children, die in the Aberfan disaster when a colliery waste tip slides down a mountain in Wales.
Ian Brady and Myra Hindley are sentence to life imprisonment for the brutal Moors Murders.

Art and science

Tom Stoppard's first play Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead premiers. This absurdist play uses two minor characters from Hamlet to explore the existential themes of free will versus determinism and the futility of language.
Seamus Heany publishes his first volume of poems, Death of a Naturalist.

International

The Cultural Revolution is launched in China in order to bring Chinese culture and society in line with communist ideals. It was also, however, an attempt by Mao Zedong to regain control of the country after the mistakes of the Great Leap Forward.
Archbishop of Canterbury, Arthur Michael Ramsey meets Pope Paul VI, the first official meeting between the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches for 400 years.

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