Queen Elizabeth II

1 portrait of Queen Elizabeth II

© Cecil Beaton / Victoria and Albert Museum, London

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Queen Elizabeth II

by Cecil Beaton
cibachrome print from original transparency, 16 October 1968
13 1/8 in. x 13 1/8 in. (333 mm x 332 mm)
Acquired from executors of Cecil Beaton, 1986
Photographs Collection
NPG x29298

Sitterback to top

Artistback to top

  • Cecil Beaton (1904-1980), Photographer, designer and writer. Artist or producer associated with 1114 portraits, Sitter associated with 360 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. 85 Read entry

    Taken for the exhibition of Beaton's work held at the National Portrait Gallery in 1968-9, this understated image demonstrates the photographer's gravitation towards more informal portraits of the Queen. Although the pose retains a suggestion of formality, the monarch is shown wearing an admiral's boat cloak, a device that echoes Annigoni's celebrated portrait of 1954-5. Indeed, Beaton referred to this photograph as 'the poor man's Annigoni'.

Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top

Events of 1968back to top

Current affairs

Enoch Powell delivers his 'Rivers of Blood' speech in Birmingham in opposition to anti-discrimination legislation and immigration from the commonwealth. The speech is usually regarded as racist and blamed for stirring up racial prejudice. Powell was sacked from the shadow cabinet as a result, but received considerable public approval at the time for his views.
Fay Sislin becomes England first black woman police officer.

Art and science

Beaton Portraits is the first ever photographic exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. Under the directorship of Roy Strong, the exhibition introduced a new, theatrical approach to display, and was so popular that the national press reported on the length of queues to get in and it had to be extended twice.

International

Civil unrest escalates in France as student protesters, joined by striking workers, clash with the police. The events came to represent the conflict between the new, liberalised, left-wing generation and the forces of authority and conservatism. French protests were mirrored by others abroad including the Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia, where political liberalisation was achieved for a few months before the country was invaded by the Soviet Union.

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