Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

© Cecil Beaton / Victoria and Albert Museum, London

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Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

by Cecil Beaton
bromide print, 1939
8 5/8 in. x 5 7/8 in. (218 mm x 150 mm)
Given by Sir Cecil Beaton, 1977
Photographs Collection
NPG x24414

Sitterback to top

Artistback to top

  • Cecil Beaton (1904-1980), Photographer, designer and writer. Artist or producer associated with 1112 portraits, Sitter associated with 361 portraits.

Linked publicationsback to top

  • Pepper, Terence, Beaton Portraits, 2004 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 5 February - 31 May 2004), p. 69 Read entry

    He saw Queen Elizabeth, later the Queen Mother, through the eyes of the Victorian court painter Winterhalter.

  • Pepper, Terence, Beaton Portraits, 2004 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 5 February to 31 May 2004), p. 69

Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top

Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1939back to top

Current affairs

Britain goes to war. The German invasion of Poland demonstrated that the policy of appeasement had failed. After refusing to meet Britain's ultimatum to withdraw troops, Britain and France declared war on Germany. The Second World War had begun.

Art and science

The Sutton Hoo burial ship is discovered. Apparently following a dream, Mrs Pretty invited the archaeologist Basil Brown to investigate a series of burial mounds on her estate on the banks of the river Deben in Suffolk. The excavation revealed an Anglo-Saxon burial, uncovering the most significant horde of early medieval artefacts found in Britain (now housed at the British Museum).

International

The Second World War begins. Germany's invasion of Poland prompted Britain and France to declare war forming the core of the Allied powers. As part of the Soviet-Nazi Pact, the Soviet Union joined the war on the German side, helping, with Italy, to form the Axis Powers. Poland was soon overpowered and the Baltic Republics and Finland were invaded by the Soviet Union.

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