Description
The painting depicts the royal family in the White Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace, similar to Sir John Lavery's portrait of King George V and his family, The Royal Family at Buckingham Palace (1913). [2] Wonnacott was noted to have been a follower of realism painting and influenced by the works of Sir William Coldstream and Walter Sickert. [3] Unlike Lavery's 1913 portrait, Wonnacott tried to mix the formality afforded by the setting with the contemporary appearance and relaxed attitudes of his subjects. [2]
The portrait shows four generations of the House of Windsor, with the Queen Mother seated on a yellow chair and Prince Harry leaning onto it. [3] Prince Charles and the Queen stand on either side while Prince Philip stands in the background. [3] The royal corgis are also depicted at the feet of the Queen Mother and Prince William in the foreground. [2] In a satirical piece for The Guardian discussing the best and worst royal portraits, John Crace pointed out the corgis blending in with the carpet, stating "It's not a pattern in the carpet, Granny. It's a corgi." [4] With the Queen Mother at its centre, the entire group is tucked away in the lower portion of the painting. [3]
Each of the subjects sat for up to seven hours for the artist and the painting process took about a year. [5] The portrait was exhibited at the gallery between 2000 and 2006 loaned to Beningbrough Hall between 2014 and 2016. [5]
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