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The present work was painted in 1973/4 by Michael Noakes and demonstrates the incomparable confidence that the Royal Family found in Noakes’ painterly abilities. Whilst most artists who are offered a life sitting with the Queen have the privilege of sitting with her for the standard hour and a half sitting, throughout his career Noakes spent more than twenty hours in total with Her Majesty, over several sittings. During this time, an intimate artistic relationship formed between artist and sitter, placing Noakes in a position whereby he could, more truthfully than most, exhume the complex character of Her Majesty and translate it through the medium of paint.
Educated at Downside and the Royal Academy Schools, Michael Noakes developed a naturalistic style which subsequently caught the attention of actors, religious leaders, politicians and members of the royal family. During his career of over sixty years, he became a particularly favoured portrait painter...
The present work was painted in 1973/4 by Michael Noakes and demonstrates the incomparable confidence that the Royal Family found in Noakes’ painterly abilities. Whilst most artists who are offered a life sitting with the Queen have the privilege of sitting with her for the standard hour and a half sitting, throughout his career Noakes spent more than twenty hours in total with Her Majesty, over several sittings. During this time, an intimate artistic relationship formed between artist and sitter, placing Noakes in a position whereby he could, more truthfully than most, exhume the complex character of Her Majesty and translate it through the medium of paint.
Educated at Downside and the Royal Academy Schools, Michael Noakes developed a naturalistic style which subsequently caught the attention of actors, religious leaders, politicians and members of the royal family. During his career of over sixty years, he became a particularly favoured portrait painter...
To view all current artworks for sale visit philipmould.com The present work was painted in 1973/4 by Michael Noakes and demonstrates the incomparable confidence that the Royal Family found in Noakes’ painterly abilities. Whilst most artists who are offered a life sitting with the Queen have the privilege of sitting with her for the standard hour and a half sitting, throughout his career Noakes spent more than twenty hours in total with Her Majesty, over several sittings. During this time, an intimate artistic relationship formed between artist and sitter, placing Noakes in a position whereby he could, more truthfully than most, exhume the complex character of Her Majesty and translate it through the medium of paint. Educated at Downside and the Royal Academy Schools, Michael Noakes developed a naturalistic style which subsequently caught the attention of actors, religious leaders, politicians and members of the royal family. During his career of over sixty years, he became a particularly favoured portrait painter of the establishment. His sitters include the Prince of Wales, the Queen Mother, the Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Margaret and the Princess Royal. Noakes’ long association with the Royal Family began in 1972 when he was commissioned by the City of London Corporation to paint seven members of the Royal Family and the Lord and Lady Mayoress of London, in six different locations. Commissioned to celebrate the Silver Wedding anniversary of the Queen and Prince Philip, the group portrait now hangs in London’s Guildhall Art Gallery. The present painting depicts the Queen in the very same fur trimmed blue coat, hat and gloves as the Guildhall portrait, and represents one of the first of many of Noakes’ portraits of the Queen, before he made his name as a Royal Portrait Painter. Another oil of the Queen in this attire, owned by Prince Charles, made world-wide front-page news when the Royal Family were photographed at the christening of Prince Louis in July 2018, which the Queen herself was unable to attend.[1] The Daily Telegraph reported: "Given her advancing years and remarkably busy schedule, it was understandable that the Queen, by mutual consent, chose not to attend Prince Louis’s christening. But the 92-year-old monarch poignantly retains a place in an intimate family portrait taken in the Morning Room at Clarence House last week, watching over the next generation of her family."[2] Journalist and friend of Noakes, Patrick Heren, insightfully noted; ‘What set him apart, in my view, was his real interest in the people he portrayed. His engagement can be seen in the light and life in the faces, above all the eyes, of his subjects.’[3] Queen Elizabeth’s eyes indeed hold staggering integrity through her powerful gaze whilst subtly echoing the blue hues dispersed throughout her clothing and the background. Determination has been a hallmark of Noakes’ work, and his studious work ethic is apparent. During one of his many sittings with the Queen, Noakes recalled growing increasingly irritated with the number of disruptions and interruptions. Finally exasperated beyond a point of containment, a knock at the door prompted Noakes to cry out “What do you want?”. He was answered cautiously by The Prince of Wales, inquiring if it might be possible to speak with the Queen.[4] Noakes was grateful that, in this instance, he may have been accorded more lenience than most others would have been granted.[5] Luckily, Noakes’ relationship with the Royal Family never faltered, and Prince Charles has since praised the likeness of Noakes’ portrayal of his mother. He later selected the study from his own personal collection to be displayed in a celebration of his 70th birthday in 2018 at Buckingham Palace’s Summer Exhibition. With regards to another of Noakes’ paintings selected for the exhibition, of The Queen Mother, Charles stated: ‘I acquired it from the artist as I felt it brilliantly captured her likeness and, above all, reminds me of the essence of her personality’.[6] Noakes’ prominence is not confined to the city of London. His international reputation is evidenced repeatedly through his wide range of patrons, but most notably through his position as the only painter to have been given time by Pope Benedict XVI for a portrait commissioned by and for the Vatican. Noakes’ paintings hang in many important collections such as the National Portrait Gallery, the British Museum and the House of Commons. [1] P. Heren quotes in V. Ward ‘Queen watches over Prince Louis in official christening portrait - but can you spot Her Majesty?’, The Telegraph, 16th July 2018 [available at; https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/07/15/queen-watches-prince-louis-official-christening-portrait-can/] [2] P. Heren quotes in V. Ward ‘Queen watches over Prince Louis in official christening portrait - but can you spot Her Majesty?’, The Telegraph, 16th July 2018 [available at; https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/07/15/queen-watches-prince-louis-official-christening-portrait-can/] [3] P. Heren, ‘The Catholic who painted Thatcher, the Queen and two popes’, Catholic Herald (June 2018). [4] M. Noakes quoted in M. Stewart, ‘Interview’, Royal Society of Portrait Painters, 2014 [available at; https://therp.co.uk/the-late-michael-noakes/] [5] Ibid. [6] Prince Charles quoted in H. Furness, ‘Prince Charles lends favourite family portraits for birthday exhibition’, The Telegraph, 2nd July 2018 [available at; https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/07/01/prince-charles-lends-favourite-family-portraits-birthday-exhibition/] |
