Ralph Heimans

Last updated

Ralph Heimans
Ralph Heimans AM.jpg
Born1970
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Nationality Australian, British
Education Mosman High School
University of Sydney
Julian Ashton Art School
Known forPainting
Notable work The Coronation Theatre: Portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II
HRH The Prince of Wales
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
SpouseBokey
Website www.ralphheimans.com

Ralph Heimans, AM (born 1970) is an Australian-British contemporary portrait painter based in London, England. He is considered to be "one of today's leading portrait artists". [1] He is best known for his large-scale Royal portraits of Queen Elizabeth II, Charles, Prince of Wales, and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, along with portraits of leading contemporary cultural figures. In 2014, Heimans was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for Services to Portraiture.

Contents

Royal portraits

Heimans was selected to paint the official Diamond Jubilee portrait of The Queen in 2012, [2] The Coronation Theatre: Portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II . It forms part of the Collection of Westminster Abbey and is on permanent display in the newly opened Triforium Gallery. [3]

In 2017, Heimans produced a portrait of The Duke of Edinburgh to mark his retirement from public duties and highlight his family history and Danish roots. [4] The portrait was acquired from the artist by the Royal Collection Trust in 2018. [5]

In 2018, his portrait of The Prince of Wales was unveiled at Australia House in London to mark the Prince's 70th birthday. The work, set in Dumfries House in Scotland, focuses on the Prince's commitment to environmental protection and sustainability, architectural preservation and the notions of harmony between the natural world and the built environment. [6] The portrait is part of the Royal Collection and will be on display in Dumfries House. [7] [ non-primary source needed ]

Heimans was commissioned by Frederiksborg Castle to paint Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, who unveiled his portrait in May 2018 to mark his 50th birthday. The portrait is a companion piece to Heimans’ 2006 critically acclaimed portrait of Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark. Her first official portrait, which was unveiled in Frederiksborg Castle in 2006 was praised for its multi-layered narrative and sophisticated treatment of the young princess..."a symphony of shadows." [8]

Portraits of cultural icons

Other notable works by Heimans include, culturally significant figures such as actors Dame Judi Dench and Sir Ben Kingsley. His portrait of pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy was produced in collaboration with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and is now in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia. Well known Australian public figures include Michael Kirby (judge) (NPG Canberra) and Dame Quentin Bryce (Parliament House). His Shakespeare400 series of celebrated authors, including Margaret Atwood, Howard Jacobson, Anne Tyler, Gillian Flynn, Tracy Chevalier and Jo Nesbo was exhibited at Globe Theatre in 2016. [9]

Exhibitions and public collections

In May 2018, a major retrospective at Frederiksborg Castle, the Museum of National History, opened by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, saw many of Heimans‘ most celebrated portraits displayed. [10] The Director of the Museum, Mette Skougaard said the exhibition gave viewers "a rare opportunity to appreciate the range and depth of one of today's leading portrait artists". [11] "Heimans's luminous work is built on a foundation of traditional techniques through a mastery of complex composition his subjects are woven into their surroundings to create a multi-layered narrative environment…building a landscape of the soul". [11]

In 2016, Heimans painted a series of portraits of six authors who were reinterpreting Shakespeare's plays to celebrate the playwright's 400th birthday, Shakespeare400. Margaret Atwood, Anne Tyler, Tracy Chevalier, Gillian Flynn, Jo Nesbo and Howard Jacobson sat for him, and the paintings were exhibited at the Globe. Of his portrait, Jacobson said; "It's my soul. He's painted my soul". [12] Author Anne Tyler said of Heimans's painting of her "I felt when I saw my finished portrait that I truly recognised myself, in a way that I have never recognised my photographs." [13]

Heimans's works are held in major international collections around the world, including The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, The Royal Collection, The Danish Museum of National History Frederiksborg Castle, The National Portrait Gallery of Australia, Westminster Abbey, Australia's Parliament House and the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.

Heimans's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II was exhibited in The Coronation Anniversary exhibition at the Chapter House in Westminster Abbey 2013, [14] and at the National Portrait Gallery of Australia in 2012 as the centre piece of the exhibition "Glorious", which brought record numbers of visitors to the Gallery. [15]

Controversy

During the Coronation Exhibition at Westminster Abbey in 2013, Heimans's Diamond Jubilee portrait of The Queen was attacked. [16] It was defaced by a campaigner, from Fathers4Justice, who spray-painted 'help!' across the portrait. As a premeditated act of vandalism of art it is one of many works of art which has been damaged while on public display. A court case ensued and the offender was jailed for a 6-month term. [17] After 5 weeks of intensive work by the Conservation Department at Westminster Abbey it was restored. The portrait is now back on display in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Gallery in the Triforium of Westminster Abbey.

Personal life

Heimans was born in Sydney in 1970, to documentary film maker, Frank [18] and Josette Heimans. His brother Jeremy Heimans, an author and activist, is the CEO of Purpose [19] and co-founded GetUp and avaaz.org. His family is of Dutch Lebanese Jewish descent.

Heimans attended Mosman High School and at 17 won the Australian National Art Award, (1987).

He studied architecture and then fine art and pure mathematics completing a BA at Sydney University in 1991. He continued to study drawing at the Julian Ashton Art School.

Heimans lived in South London with his wife and two daughters, Ellie Rose and Hannah, until they returned to live in Sydney after the COVID-19 pandemic. [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maud of Wales</span> Queen of Norway from 1905 to 1938

Maud of Wales was Queen of Norway as the wife of King Haakon VII. The youngest daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, she was known as Princess Maud of Wales before her marriage, as her father was the Prince of Wales at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christen Købke</span> Danish painter

Christen Schiellerup Købke was a Danish painter, and one of the best-known artists from the Golden Age of Danish Painting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Edgar Boehm</span> British sculptor (1834–1890)

Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm, 1st Baronet, was an Austrian-born British medallist and sculptor, best known for the "Jubilee head" of Queen Victoria on coinage, and the statue of the Duke of Wellington at Hyde Park Corner. During his career Boehm maintained a large studio in London and produced a significant volume of public works and private commissions. A speciality of Boehm's was the portrait bust; there are many examples of these in the National Portrait Gallery. He was often commissioned by the Royal Family and members of the aristocracy to make sculptures for their parks and gardens. His works were many, and he exhibited 123 of them at the Royal Academy from 1862 to his death in 1890.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerard van Honthorst</span> Dutch painter (1592–1656)

Gerard van Honthorst was a Dutch Golden Age painter who became known for his depiction of artificially lit scenes, eventually receiving the nickname Gherardo delle Notti. Early in his career he visited Rome, where he had great success painting in a style influenced by Caravaggio. Following his return to the Netherlands he became a leading portrait painter. Van Honthorst's contemporaries included Utrecht painters Hendrick Ter Brugghen and Dirck van Baburen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederiksborg Castle</span> Castle in Denmark

Frederiksborg Castle is a palatial complex in Hillerød, Denmark. It was built as a royal residence for King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway in the early 17th century, replacing an older castle acquired by Frederick II and becoming the largest Renaissance residence in Scandinavia. On three islets in the Slotssøen, it is adjoined by a large formal garden in the Baroque style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jørgen Roed</span> Danish painter (1808–1888)

Jørgen Roed, Danish portrait and genre painter associated with the Golden Age of Danish Painting, was born in Ringsted to Peder Jørgensen Roed and wife, Ellen Hansdatter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II</span> 50th anniversary of the monarchs accession

The Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration held in 2002 marking the 50th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was intended by the Queen to be both a commemoration of her 50 years as monarch and an opportunity for her to officially and personally thank her people for their loyalty.

Christian Corbet is a Canadian artist. He is a Sculptor in Residence for the Royal Canadian Navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Yeo</span> British artist (born 1970)

Jonathan Yeo is a British artist of contemporary portraiture who was educated at Westminster School. He rose to prominence for having painted Kevin Spacey, Dennis Hopper, and Cara Delevingne, among others. GQ described him as "one of the world's most in-demand portraitists."

The Westminster Abbey Museum was located in the 11th-century vaulted undercroft beneath the former monks' dormitory in Westminster Abbey, London, England. This was located in one of the oldest areas of the abbey, dating back almost to the foundation of the Romanesque church by Edward the Confessor in 1065. This space had been used as a museum since 1908.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Memorial, Kolkata</span> Memorial-museum in West Bengal, India

The Victoria Memorial is a large marble monument on the Maidan in Central Kolkata, having its entrance on the Queen's Way. It was built between 1906 and 1921 by the British Raj. It is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria, the Empress of India from 1876 to 1901.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westminster Retable</span> Medieval altarpiece in Westminster Abbey

The Westminster Retable, the oldest known panel painting altarpiece in England, is estimated to have been painted in the 1270s in the circle of Plantagenet court painters, for Westminster Abbey, very probably for the high altar. It is thought to have been donated by Henry III of England as part of his Gothic redesign of the Abbey. The painting survived only because it was incorporated into furniture between the 16th and 19th centuries, and much of it has been damaged beyond restoration. According to one specialist, the "Westminster Retable, for all its wounded condition, is the finest panel painting of its time in Western Europe."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Ewart Lockhart</span> Scottish Victorian painter

William Ewart Lockhart was a Scottish Victorian painter, born in Eaglesfield and later raised by his grandparents in Sibbaldbie and then Annan.

The Royal Collection Project is a body of seventy five contemporary Canadian watercolours housed within The Royal Collection of H.R.H King Charles III.

The year 2013 in art involves some significant events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emil Fuchs (artist)</span> Austrian-American sculptor and painter

Emil Fuchs was an Austrian–American sculptor, medallist, painter, and author who worked in Vienna, London and New York. He painted portraits of Queen Victoria and Edward VII and was fashionable among London high society in the early 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pietro Annigoni's portraits of Elizabeth II</span> Three portraits of Queen Elizabeth II, painted between 1954 and 1972

Pietro Annigoni completed a number of portraits of Queen Elizabeth II between 1954 and 1972. In 1955, he painted her for the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers and in 1969 for the National Portrait Gallery. The two portraits were united for the National Portrait Gallery's exhibition; The Queen: Art and Image, held to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2012. In 1972, Annigoni completed a circular drawing of the Queen and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh to mark their silver wedding anniversary.

<i>The Coronation Theatre: Portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II</i> 2012 painting by Ralph Heimans

The Coronation Theatre: Portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II was painted by Ralph Heimans in 2012 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. While the sitting took place in Buckingham Palace, the Queen is portrayed in Westminster Abbey, standing at the centre of the Cosmati pavement where she had been crowned 60 years previously. The mosaic pavement, referred to by Shakespeare as "the floor of heaven", is rich in symbolism and was created to evoke the "eternal pattern of the universe". It has been an integral part of the coronation ceremony since Henry III of England and is where every English monarch has been crowned for the last 900 years.

Ingeborg Lindborg or Ingeborg Andréasen-Lindborg (1875–1950) was a Swedish artist.

Prince Philip is a 2017 portrait of Prince Philip (1921–2021), the Prince Consort of Great Britain and the Duke of Edinburgh, by the Australian-British painter Ralph Heimans. It was created for the Museum of Danish History at Frederiksborg Castle in Denmark to mark Philip's retirement from royal public service and celebrate his Danish heritage.

References

  1. Skougaard, Mette (2018). Director, Frederiksborg, National History Museum. ISBN   978-87-93049-22-2.
  2. "Portraits of power". The Daily Telegraph, London.
  3. "Exhibition Review: the Queen's Diamond Jubilee at Westminster Abbey". The Times, London.
  4. "A New Portrait of Prince Philip Looks Like It Was Pulled Straight From The Crown". Vanity Fair.
  5. "HRH Duke Edinburgh (b.1921)". Royal Collection Trust.
  6. HRH Prince of Wales (2010). Harmony, A new way of looking at our world. Harper Collins. ISBN   978-0-00-734803-9.
  7. "Portrait of Prince Charles at Dumfries House". Facebook.
  8. "The painter and the princess". National Portrait Gallery of Australia.
  9. "Shakespeare Globe Blog".
  10. "Ralph Heimans Portraits". Frederiksborg, Museum of National History, Denmark.
  11. 1 2 Heimans, Ralph (2018). Artist's Monograph: Ralph Heimans' Exhibition Catalogue. Det Nationalhistoriske Museum. ISBN   978-87-93049-22-2.
  12. Heimans, Ralph (2018). Artist's Monograph: Ralph Heimans' Exhibition Catalogue. Det Nationalhistoriske Museum. p. 130. ISBN   978-87-93049-22-2.
  13. Heimans, Ralph (2018). Artist's Monograph: Ralph Heimans' Exhibition Catalogue. Det Nationalhistoriske Museum. p. 80. ISBN   978-87-93049-22-2.
  14. "First public display in London for Diamond Jubilee Portrait of The Queen". Westminster Abbey.
  15. "Gallery visitors can't get enough of the Queen". The Canberra Times.
  16. "Fathers for Justice member arrested after Jubilee portrait of Queen is defaced with paint at Westminster Abbey". The Independent.
  17. "Fathers4Justice Campaigner Jailed For Defacing Queen's Portrait". The Guardian.
  18. "Frank Heimans imdb page".
  19. "Purpose".
  20. ‘That unguarded moment’: Tips from the Aussie portrait artist adored by royals Retrieved 17 February 2024