Queen Victoria
1 portrait
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© National Portrait Gallery, London
Early Victorian Portraits Catalogue
Queen Victoria
by Bertha Müller, after Heinrich von Angeli
1900, based on a work of 1899
46 1/2 in. x 36 in. (1181 mm x 914 mm)
NPG 1252
This portraitback to top
Commissioned after the failure of the NPG to acquire the 1840 portrait of Queen Victoria by Wilkie. Permission for the copy to be done was given by the Queen, who also presented a portrait of herself by Hayter (NPG 1250). The original portrait by Von Angeli is in the Royal Collection, Windsor, exhibited Pageant of Canada, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 1967 (253), reproduced in catalogue, listed by C. H. Collins Baker, Catalogue of the Principal Pictures in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle (1937), p 4. The NPG copy was executed in Von Angeli's studio in Vienna under the supervision of the artist; a letter from him of 12 October 1899 (NPG archives), gives details of Bertha Müller's qualifications and the price of the copy. A second letter of 19 April 1900 (NPG archives) states that the copy was entirely her own work. Another copy by Bertha Müller is in the Royal Collection, exhibited Kings and Queens, RA, 1953 (272).
Physical descriptionback to top
Healthy complexion, greyish eyes and hair. Dressed in black, with a white lace bonnet, the blue sash of the Garter, a silver bracelet on one hand, gold and silver bracelets on the other, a pearl necklace and earrings. Seated in a red armchair, with her elbow resting on a mauve table cloth, with a fan and white and yellow roses on it. Rest of background greyish-brown.
Provenanceback to top
Commissioned by the NPG trustees, 1899, and delivered, 1900.
This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: Richard Ormond, Early Victorian Portraits, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1973, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.
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