Some of the most ubiquitous portraits in the world are those that appear on currency. But have you ever considered how the image of the Queen got on to your small change? Well, a new exhibition at the British Museum explains just that.
Artist Mary Gillick was behind the first portrait of the Queen to appear on British coins. After Elizabeth acceded to the throne in 1952, Gillick beat 16 other artists in a competition by The Royal Mint Advisory Committee; she was in her seventies when her design was selected. When Gillick sadly passed away in 1963, aged 83, the family donated her collection to the British Museum and the Henry Moore Institute.
The exhibition, ‘Mary Gillick: Modelling the Queen’s Portrait’, takes you on a journey through Gillick’s work and is split into three parts; her early career as an artist, her later practice designing medals and – of course – the story of the Queen’s first coin portrait. It includes material such as the plaster casts that were made to mould the coins and the process by which Gillick’s original modelling of the Queen’s head was reduced to a pocket-size portrait.
Ironically, given the subject, the show is free: a fun art day out without having to spend a penny.
‘Mary Gillick: Modelling the Queen’s Portrait’, British Museum, until Jul 31. Free. Get your tickets here.
Find out how you can get a portrait of your family in the National Gallery.
Looking for more things to do? Here are the top photography exhibitions in London.
0 Comments