Photograph
March 1945 (Photographed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) Buckingham Palace, 1945. Seated, three-quarter length. Wearing an oval neck crinoline gown with puffed sleeves, designed by the British fashion designer Sir Norman Hartnell (1901-1979). The dress is embroidered with sequins to form floral patterns. The princess also wears a double-string pearl necklace. She faces the camera, her expression is relaxed and smiling; and her hands are resting in her lap. Light from behind her, highlights her shoulders and the curls in her hair, as well as illuminating fresh flowers which surround her. A backdrop depicts an enlarged and adapted section of 'The Swing' by the French painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806).
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Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | photography |
| Brief description | Royal Portrait by Cecil Beaton (1904-1980). Photograph depicting Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II), Buckingham Palace, March 1945. |
| Physical description | Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) Buckingham Palace, 1945. Seated, three-quarter length. Wearing an oval neck crinoline gown with puffed sleeves, designed by the British fashion designer Sir Norman Hartnell (1901-1979). The dress is embroidered with sequins to form floral patterns. The princess also wears a double-string pearl necklace. She faces the camera, her expression is relaxed and smiling; and her hands are resting in her lap. Light from behind her, highlights her shoulders and the curls in her hair, as well as illuminating fresh flowers which surround her. A backdrop depicts an enlarged and adapted section of 'The Swing' by the French painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806). |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | '292-23' (Written in pencil on reverse.) |
| Gallery label | Princess Elizabeth, Buckingham Palace
March 1945
The flowers that appear in many of Beaton’s portraits were often picked from his own garden. Elaborate arrangements of roses, carnations, lilies and hydrangeas filled the space between a photographic backdrop and the sitter, and were an essential prop in the creation of his idealised Arcadian scenes.
Gelatin silver print
V&A: E.1361-2010
(2012) |
| Credit line | Bequeathed to the Museum in 1987 by Eileen Hose, secretary to the photographer |
| Production | Cecil Beaton photographed members of the royal family from 1930-1979. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Place depicted | |
| Bibliographic reference | Strong, Roy C. Cecil Beaton: the royal portraits. London: Thames and Hudson, c1988. p. 104 |
| Other number | 292-23 - Beaton's number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.1361-2010 |
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| Record created | October 19, 2010 |
| Record URL |
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