LONDON (CNN) — The first official portrait of Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, has been unveiled at London’s National Portrait Gallery — but has met with a mixed reaction from art critics and the public.
Award-winning artist Paul Emsley, who spent three-and-a-half months painting the Duchess’s likeness, said he had tried to portray her warmth and personality in the picture.
“The Duchess explained that she would like to be portrayed naturally — her natural self — as opposed to her official self,” he said in a video posted on the gallery’s website.
“She struck me as enormously open and generous and a very warm person, so after initially feeling it was going to be an unsmiling portrait I think it was the right choice in the end to have her smiling – that is really who she is.”
Both Catherine, who is expecting her first baby, and her husband Prince William, are said to be pleased with the finished painting, with the Duchess reportedly telling Emsley at a private viewing on Friday that it is “amazing… brilliant.”
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However, reaction from art critics and the public has been more mixed, with many taking to social media, including Twitter, to share their thoughts, claiming the picture is unflattering and ages the Duchess beyond her years.
Writing in the UK’s Guardian newspaper, Charlotte Higgins claimed the painting transformed “a pretty young woman… into something unpleasant from the ‘Twilight’ franchise.”
In the Independent, art critic Michael Glover wrote that the portrait was “catastrophic,” combining “hamsterish” cheeks and “hair whose featheriness has been borrowed from an advert for shampoo.”
Emsley, who was born in Glasgow but grew up in South Africa before returning to Britain in 1996, won the prestigious BP Portrait Award in 2007. He has previously painted portraits of Nelson Mandela and author VS Naipaul.
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He created the work from a series of photographs taken during two sittings, at Kensington Palace in London and at his studio in South West England, in May and June last year.
“I’m always worried about the sitter — are they cold, are they hot, are they comfortable — and photography today is so accurate and so good that it is really so much easier just to take photographs and work from that,” he said.
Catherine’s portrait joins centuries-worth of official paintings and photographs of the British royal family in the NPG’s collection. The duchess is a patron of the gallery.
NPG director Sandy Nairne said revealing the portrait, which he described as “a captivating contemporary image,” was “an exciting moment.”
In a statement, Stephen Deuchar, director of the Art Fund, said: “The unveiling of a first official portrait of a royal sitter is always an important and intriguing moment, defining and
14 Comments to “Kate Middleton’s Official Portrait Unveiled, Draws Controversy”
January 11, 2013 at 12:32 PM
At first site, I thought it was an age progression photo. Apparently, it's not.
January 11, 2013 at 12:44 PM
She looks fine. I think some American people might have a bit of conceited apathy towards the gal.
January 11, 2013 at 12:47 PM
Kate is one hot piece of…………………..artwork.
January 11, 2013 at 1:02 PM
If you hadn't seen the original, this picture is fine as it is. It's just that I think the real Kate is prettier than the picture.
January 11, 2013 at 1:15 PM
She looks like a 50 year old!
January 11, 2013 at 1:41 PM
@Bullock, I agree with you. My first impression is it makes her look as if she's had a few drinks. It also makes her look old and not nearly as pretty as she is.
January 11, 2013 at 2:06 PM
She's so beautiful, but this reminds me of one of those portraits you see in the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland. A bit eery looking.
January 11, 2013 at 2:53 PM
Lol, now you have me moving side to side checking to see if it turns into a skeleton.
January 11, 2013 at 3:36 PM
Who’s Kate Middleton?
January 11, 2013 at 4:00 PM
Some people wouldn't be happy if you hung them with a brand new rope.
January 11, 2013 at 6:08 PM
i've seen hotter chix at the mall !….i wish she had a bigger rack !….LOLLLLLLLL
January 11, 2013 at 7:36 PM
This makes her look like the Duchess of Pork
January 12, 2013 at 10:33 AM
Looks kinda sinister.
February 19, 2013 at 1:24 PM
here is the portrait of Kate Middleton,