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On The Table Read, “the best arts magazine in the UK“, a life refracted: new exhibition explores the work of three royal artists who have immortalised Her Majesty the Queen in their portraits, 28th September – 12th October, 2022.
A new and historic royal exhibition in London will bring together three renowned royal artists with unique perspectives of the Queen for the very first time.
The exhibition, which opens in Tribute to Her Majesty on 28th September at Quantus Gallery, features the work of Rob Munday, Frances Segelman and Christian Furr, all of whom have portrayed the Queen during her life variously through photography, holography, painting and sculpture.
Each artist has explored the myriad facets and perceptions of the monarch in their own way, seeing her anew in forms at once cutting-edge or classical. In this way, their work brings together the facets of a public life of service, pageantry and totemic impact and a private life of ‘everywoman humanity’ — and ultimately mystery.
Rob Munday is best-known for creating the first officially commissioned 3D/holographic portrait of Her Majesty the Queen in 2004. The portrait, Equanimity*, has since become one of the most iconic portraits taken of Her Majesty and now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery. In addition, Munday unveiled Felicity – Platinum Queen for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
The composition sees the Queen reacting to an unscripted and amusing comment made by her closest aid and best friend Angela Kelly, as Angela rearranged her clothing prior to the holographic shoot. Munday captured this unexpected moment of Felicity while making test shots for the hologram at the time. It remained unnoticed in Munday’s archives for almost 19 years, before he rediscovered it last year.
Munday picked out one comment from thousands on social media which he feels sums up the portrait perfectly. ‘Her facial expression shows a depth in her personality that reaches back to the days of her youth when the enormous weight of wearing the crown of England was not yet realised’, P.A. McCandless.
Munday will also show the world’s first gold holographic portrait miniature, which he was invited to show at the Royal Miniature Society’s prestigious annual exhibition in 2013. In creating and showing this miniature of Her Majesty the Queen, Rob Munday has been credited for bringing into being a brand-new portrait medium.
In this important exhibition in tribute to Her Majesty, Munday dedicates a new portrait In the Blink of An Eye, to his special personal memories and artistic relationship with the Queen.
The Queen’s symbolism, impact and personal warmth were further captured in a spectacular bust by royal sculptor Frances Segelman, whose subjects have also included HM The King, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, HRH The Princess Royal, HRH The Duke of Kent and HRH The Countess of Wessex.
A fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an associate of the Royal Society of British Sculptors Segelman sculpted several versions of the Queen. The version at Buckingham Palace is without a crown, as the Queen indicated she wanted it to be in keeping with the informal dress worn by Prince Philip in the sculpture Frances had already made of him.
The two sculptures are displayed together at the Palace. Frances’ other sculpture versions of the Queen have a crown on, including the one displayed in the ‘Majesty’ exhibition.
‘The Queen was my favourite sitter. So elegant’ says Segelman. ‘She has always been my role model. It was surreal and unbelievable, not to mention nerve-wracking, to go into the room at the palace and take measurements of her head for the bust.’
Her three sittings with the Queen in 2007 laid the foundations for the eventual sculpture, which was completed in 2009, and Segelman chose her tiara with Angela Kelly, the Queen’s personal dresser. The elegant bust of Her Majesty earned Frances Segelman Royal sculptor status.
At 28 years old, British Artist Christian Furr was the youngest artist every to be commissioned to paint an official portrait of the Queen. Personally selected for the honour, Furr approached the project with the aim of showing both the regal and human qualities of Her Majesty. The portrait currently hangs in the Royal Overseas League.
‘My portrait portrays the Queen’s sense of humour and unrufflable nature,’ says Furr. ‘Her Majesty liked the portrait because a few years later, in 2010, The Duke of Edinburgh met me personally to accept a special print of the painting.’
Furr dedicates a brand-new diamond dust on canvas edition portrait of the Queen based on his unreleased photograph of the Queen smiling.
After graduating in 1984, Rob Munday became one of the UK’s first generation of holographers and is now recognised as one of the world’s leading holographic artists.
In 1985, he was invited to help establish and run the world’s first postgraduate degree in creative holography at the Royal College of Art, London, and in doing so, designed and built the UK’s first dedicated holographic portrait studio, and invented the world’s first 3D digital hologram printer.
One of the only artists in the world to specialise in holographic portraiture, Rob’s sitters have included Her Majesty the Queen, film actress and UN ambassador Angelina Jolie, fashion designers Karl Lagerfeld and Valentino and Henry Allingham, the penultimate survivor of WW1 and the oldest man in the world.
Rob’s light sculpture hologram and lenticular artworks, featuring natural subjects and which explore the nature of reality, can be found in art collections and galleries throughout the world including the National Portrait Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the UK Government Art Collection, and the Fertitta Contemporary Art Collection, Las Vegas.
In 2005 Rob received the Royal Photographic Society’s Saxby Medal, the most prestigious international award for creative and technical achievements in the field of three-dimensional imaging and holography.
Frances Segelman FRSA MRSS Born in Leeds Yorkshire is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors and a Liveryman of Painters and Stainers Livery Company.
An established sculptor of personalities from the world of entertainment, politics and sport, Frances is known for her sculptures of The Royal Family. These include busts of HM The Queen, HM The King, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, HRH The Princess Royal, HRH The Duke of Kent and HRH The Countess of Wessex.
Often working in front of an audience Frances is a fast and naturally creative sculptor, and has sculpted a wide variety of public figures from the world of entertainment, politics and sport. Recent commissions include Dame Joan Collins, Lord Julian Fellowes, Sir Karl Jenkins, Boris Johnson, Dame Joanna Lumley and Eamonn Holmes.
“Inspired by Michelangelo, Frances has dedicated herself to creating bronze busts of her subjects which capture their immediacy and likeness. Her creations are realistic sculptures with a purity that invites the viewer to ponder on the face and inner thoughts that emanate from the work, the eyes, the faint lines on the skin. Her busts provide a classic vision of harmony and peace.
In 1995, aged 28, Christian Furr became the youngest artist to paint HM Queen Elizabeth II after being commissioned by Royal Overseas League. The original portrait of the Queen currently hangs in the Royal Overseas League. Furr’s successive works have adorned the walls of the Saatchi Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Royal Society of Portrait Painters and in the private collection at the Vatican. In 2004 Furr was awarded the Association of Colleges Award at the House of Commons in London given to further education alumni who have gone on to excellence in their chosen field.
Highly sought after for his painting and portrait commissions, the painter simultaneously follows the strong tradition of representation in British modern and contemporary Art throughout his oeuvre.
Christian collaborated with the world famous Aboudia – this work features in Sotheby’s New York Contemporary Discoveries show and auction September 23 – October 3, 2022.
He is collected privately around the world and features in the permanent collection of the Dorchester Collection’s flagship art Hotel 45 Park Lane, London. His new 2.7m painting for the newly refurbished Dorchester which features Hyde Park is due to be unveiled in November 2022.
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