Queen Elizabeth II

1 portrait of Queen Elizabeth II

© Eve Arnold / Magnum Photos

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Queen Elizabeth II

by Eve Arnold
cibachrome print, 1968
17 1/4 in. x 11 5/8 in. (432 mm x 295 mm)
Purchased, 1993
Primary Collection
NPG P520

Sitterback to top

Artistback to top

  • Eve Arnold (1912-2012), Photographer. Artist or producer of 9 portraits.

Linked publicationsback to top

  • 100 Fashion Icons, p. 115
  • 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. 86 Read entry

    The American photojournalist Eve Arnold joined Magnum Photos in 1951. After moving to Britain in the early 1960s, she worked for the Sunday Times and began to use colour as part of her practice. In contrast to conventional portraits that emphasised the Queen's special - but remote - position, Arnold's startlingly spontaneous photograph emphasises the Queen's qualities as an apparently ordinary, approachable person.

  • Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 202
  • Shulman, Alexandra, Elizabeth II Princess, Queen, Icon, 2021, p. 82

Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top

Subjects & Themesback 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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