The first official portrait of King Charles III has been unveiled, although the new monarch did not pose for artist Alastair Barford who instead chose to ‘study the king as he busied himself at a reception at the palace of Buckingham”. [in February]“, reports the Express log. Barford also used photographs from the global biodiversity event at the palace to complement his rather traditional portrait which shows the royal in ordinary costume rather than ceremonial dress, wearing a bracelet presented by indigenous Amazon chief Domingo Peas. The majestic new painting, completed in two weeks, is the cover image on the Illustrated London News special Coronation edition (you can also bag it for the regal sum of £54 on the arts and crafts website, Etsy).
Barford tells us: “The problem wasn’t so much the lack of painting hours. It was that I felt like because I had such a tight deadline to get the job done, I felt like I had to work. on the portrait quite a lot all day every day. I felt guilty if I spent time not working on the photo! I’m used to having a lot more time to work on a portrait and that has created some technical problems; an oil painting needs time to dry. He adds: “I also realized that the time we spend away from our work, the time we spend thinking and processing what we do but not necessarily paint, is an extremely important part of the process.”
The British government has meanwhile clashed with plans to offer every public body in the country a free portrait of the king, at a cost of £8million. “These new portraits will serve as a visible reminder in buildings across the country of the nation’s ultimate public servant,” said Oliver Dowden, the cabinet minister. But Graham Smith of the anti-monarchy group Republic called the move a “disgraceful waste of money”. Barford’s photo is not part of the portraits offered to town halls and libraries across the country.
