Andy Warhol’s often-quoted remark ‘I want to be as famous as the Queen of England’ underlines the importance of Queen Elizabeth II within his oeuvre. The artist based this screenprint on the 1977 official portrait for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee, taken by Peter Grugeon in 1975. However, the origin of the photograph was not the most important thing to Warhol. Instead, it was that, ‘The image was interesting and had that iconic look about it in and of itself. No matter who the individual was, the colour, the graphic impact, and the pose of the subject were the most important factors in any given portrait.’ (Tony Shafrazi, ‘Andy Warhol: Portraits’ in Tony Shafrazi (ed.), Andy Warhol Portraits, Phaidon Press Limited, 2007, p.17).

For Queen Elizabeth II, Warhol was clearly swayed by the power of this iconic image. He refrained from cropping it into the square format that characterised his earlier portraits, retaining the rectangle that is so reminiscent of the ubiquitous postage stamp.

As we approach the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, and the 35-year anniversary of Warhol’s death, this iconic screenprint has extraordinary relevance today in celebrating two giants of our t.mes . It seems even the Queen appreciates the importance of this work – in 2012 she celebrated her Diamond Jubilee by adding a suite of the four Royal Edition prints depicting her to the Royal collects ion. Also from the coveted Royal Edition, this fine impression printed in rich purple and embellished with dazzling diamond dust presents both the sitter and the printmaker in their best light.