Robbie Wraith
Study for a Portrait of HM the Queen, Buckingham Palace, 1998
Oil on board
9 ⅞ x 7 ⅞ in. (25 x 20 cm)
Signed ‘Wraith’ lower right
Philip Mould & Co.
To view all current artworks for sale visit philipmould.com Master of all painterly mediums, Robbie Wraith RP is a leading contemporary portrait painter. His portraits demonstrate his commitment to...
To view all current artworks for sale visit philipmould.com
Master of all painterly mediums, Robbie Wraith RP is a leading contemporary portrait painter. His portraits demonstrate his commitment to working from the life model and capacity to capture the humanity of his sitters within each brushstroke.
This portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was taken from life at Buckingham Palace. Wraith obtained multiple sittings with Her Majesty and the rapport they developed is evident in this soft and sympathetic study. Sensitive and intimate, it encapsulates the cooperative partnership between artist and sitter. Wraith describes his open and empathetic attitude toward portrait painting, stating; ‘It is a collaboration – I work directly from life, I need the atmosphere of the sitter and the echoes of the conversation woven into the paint’.
Wraith’s conscious decision to avoid art school has instilled his practise with direct, realist observation. Rather than follow the path of more conventional artistic training, Wraith instead left school at sixteen and studied in Italy and England with the most celebrated painter of Her Majesty, Pietro Annigoni, who painted her in two defining portrayals. Annigoni taught Wraith to ‘Draw ceaselessly. Observe everything. Study the masters but keep them next to you rather than between you and your subject…’. As a result of this early advise, the artist’s lifetime commitment to observation and draftsmanship has resulted in a technical mastery unmatched by most portrait painters today.
Wraith documented each sitting with the Queen - which culminated in a grand seated portrait, Portrait of HM the Queen, Buckingham Palace - via a personal diary:
I start to prepare my paints and medium, check the angles and position of the easel. Towards 11 every conceivable detail is ready. I watch the crowds outside, the relentless traffic and tide of life.
I wait between the blank canvas and the ticking clock, the distant hum of a million English moments.
The door opens and the Queen walks in, red dress, black cloak, diamonds…
‘Here I am!’
Master of all painterly mediums, Robbie Wraith RP is a leading contemporary portrait painter. His portraits demonstrate his commitment to working from the life model and capacity to capture the humanity of his sitters within each brushstroke.
This portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was taken from life at Buckingham Palace. Wraith obtained multiple sittings with Her Majesty and the rapport they developed is evident in this soft and sympathetic study. Sensitive and intimate, it encapsulates the cooperative partnership between artist and sitter. Wraith describes his open and empathetic attitude toward portrait painting, stating; ‘It is a collaboration – I work directly from life, I need the atmosphere of the sitter and the echoes of the conversation woven into the paint’.
Wraith’s conscious decision to avoid art school has instilled his practise with direct, realist observation. Rather than follow the path of more conventional artistic training, Wraith instead left school at sixteen and studied in Italy and England with the most celebrated painter of Her Majesty, Pietro Annigoni, who painted her in two defining portrayals. Annigoni taught Wraith to ‘Draw ceaselessly. Observe everything. Study the masters but keep them next to you rather than between you and your subject…’. As a result of this early advise, the artist’s lifetime commitment to observation and draftsmanship has resulted in a technical mastery unmatched by most portrait painters today.
Wraith documented each sitting with the Queen - which culminated in a grand seated portrait, Portrait of HM the Queen, Buckingham Palace - via a personal diary:
Everything is in place, a bottle of water and two glasses with ER 11 on them have appeared.I start to prepare my paints and medium, check the angles and position of the easel. Towards 11 every conceivable detail is ready. I watch the crowds outside, the relentless traffic and tide of life.
I wait between the blank canvas and the ticking clock, the distant hum of a million English moments.
The door opens and the Queen walks in, red dress, black cloak, diamonds…
‘Here I am!’