Renowned portrait artist Jonathan Yeo has undertaken several impressive commissions, but none has been as prestigious as being asked to paint the king. On May 14, King Charles III unveiled his first official portrait since being coronated. The King has joined David Attenborough, Malala Yousafzai, Tony Blair, and royal family members Queen Camilla and Prince Phillip on the impressive list of Britons painted by Yeo.
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Yeo began the 7.5-foot-by-5.5-foot artwork in June 2021, before King Charles's coronation. He transported the large canvas in a rental truck to Highgrove and Clarence House, where he had four sittings with the King over three years. “I do my best to capture the life experiences and humanity etched into any individual sitter’s face, and I hope that is what I have achieved in this portrait,” he said, expressing gratitude for the opportunity to depict the King.
The finished work depicts the King in a Welsh Guards uniform with a monarch butterfly over his left shoulder. In a statement from Buckingham Palace, Yeo notes that the butterfly is a nod to King Charles's metamorphosis from Prince to King. Less obviously, the butterfly also “highlights the environmental causes the King has championed most of his life and certainly long before they became a mainstream conversation," says the artist.
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In an interview, the artist told the New York Times that he completed the portrait before learning about the King’s cancer diagnosis. In his studio, Yeo observed that the King’s demeanor changed after being coronated: “You see physical changes in people, depending on how things are going.”
The Worshipful Company of Drapers, a historic guild originally for wool and cloth merchants and now a charitable organization, commissioned the portrait. Yeo's private commissions often sell for approximately $500,000 each.
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The portrait will be displayed in the grand Drapers’ Hall in London’s financial district. The hall features a gallery of monarchs from King George III to Queen Victoria. Yeo's portrayal of King Charles III will bring a modern element to this esteemed collection.