Painting of Queen Elizabeth II
This portrait was painted on the occasion of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee. It was officially unveiled in London (UK) on June 6, 2012, in the presence of The Queen, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, then-Governor General of Canada, and the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, then-Prime Minister of Canada. The painting was installed at Rideau Hall on June 28, 2012. In 2018, the portrait undertook a cross-country tour and was on public display in several provinces.
It is a contemporary representation of Queen Elizabeth II painted by Phil Richards. It includes a number of elements, some based on objects that can be found at Rideau Hall, some on objects that represent aspects of Her Majesty’s 60 years of service to Canada. For example, resting against 2 Victorian ink pots is a copy of the British North America Act of 1867, signed in Queen Victoria’s reign and repatriated in 1982 during Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. A pink rose in a small vase is the Queen Elizabeth Rose, introduced in 1954 in honour of the new monarch. The vase is embossed with The Queen’s Canadian Diamond Jubilee emblem. There are 6 direct light sources visible in the painting, one for each decade of her reign.
Mr. Richards noted that it took about 7 months, over a 16 month period, to create the Diamond Jubilee painting.
On September 24, 2012, Their Excellencies The Right Honourable David Johnston and Mrs. Sharon Johnston hosted a special screening of the documentary The Portrait at Rideau Hall, a National Film Board (NFB) 40-minute short film documenting the work of Mr. Richards in creating the Diamond Jubilee portrait. For more information about the documentary, visit the National Film Board’s website.
- Artist: Phil Richards
- Date: 2010-2012
- Materials: Acrylic on canvas
- Frame: Basswood and gold leaf (23K)
- Dimensions: 315 cm x 224 cm
- Collection: National Capital Commission, Official Residences, Crown Collection
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