Richard Stone (born 5 June 1951) is a British painter, specialising in portraits. In 1973, at the age of 22, he became the youngest commissioned royal portrait painter in almost 200 years.
Stone claims to have secured the commission by cold-calling Clarence House and saying "I could be a latter-day
Rembrandt
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...
".
[Roya Nikkhah (10 February 2013]
"Royal family's favourite portrait painter reveals secrets of the royal sittings"
''The Telegraph''. Retrieved 2013-11-27. He has completed commissioned portraits of
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
,
the Queen Mother,
Princess Margaret
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II.
...
, Princes
Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...
and
Andrew
Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...
, and
King Charles III
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms.
Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
.
He also painted the official Downing Street
portrait of Margaret Thatcher, who upon inspecting his work, requested that he add her handbag to the portrait. His portraits hang at
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...
, the
National Portrait Gallery (London)
The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...
, and the
National Portrait Gallery (Australia)
The National Portrait Gallery, also known as the National Portrait Gallery of Australia (NGA or NPGA) in Canberra is a public art gallery containing portraits of prominent Australians. It was established in 1998 and moved to its present buildin ...
.
Stone's
1992 portrait of Queen Elizabeth II was used by the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
during the announcement of
her death and in the subsequent obituary broadcasts.
References
External links
Richard Stone: Official Website
20th-century British painters
British male painters
21st-century British painters
British portrait painters
Living people
1951 births
20th-century British male artists
21st-century British male artists
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