Chukwuogo’s royal piece for sale
The artist was chosen from a shortlist of five other artists. She is the first black artist to have been commissioned to paint The Queen. After five sittings at Buckingham Palace, the portrait was completed in Ms Chukwuogo-Roy’s studio in Suffolk in January 2002. Chukwuogo-Roy described as one of Nigeria’s rising stars was commissioned by […]
The artist was chosen from a shortlist of five other artists. She is the first black artist to have been commissioned to paint The Queen.
After five sittings at Buckingham Palace, the portrait was completed in Ms Chukwuogo-Roy’s studio in Suffolk in January 2002.
Chukwuogo-Roy described as one of Nigeria’s rising stars was commissioned by the Commonwealth Secretariat to mark Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee which she unveiled in March, 2002.
The artist received worldwide recognition for painting the official Golden Jubilee portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Head of The Commonwealth and for her work with a number of prominent personalities. In June 2009, Chinwe was awarded the MBE for services to art in the Queen’s birthday honours list.
In 2003 Chinwe addressed the European Council Committee in Paris on Contemporary African Art and Artists, and later that year was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of East Anglia. Chinwe’s work appeared on the national postage stamps of seven countries during 2006.
Chinwe has exhibited widely in recent years ‘Ancestral Footsteps’ at the Mall Galleries, London, 2005 showcased a vast body of new works and was met with much acclaim, preceded by ‘Seeing in Colours’ at The Gallery, in Cork Street, 2004, her Land, Sea and Sunsets exhibition in May 2007 was also at The Gallery in Cork Street.
In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) she explained her journey through accomplishing her mission and her experience, meeting The Queen.
How did you get the chance to paint this portrait of the Queen?
Ms Chukwuogo-Roy: It came as a complete surprise. When I was painting the portrait of the last Commonwealth Secretary General, out of the blue he said, ‘Would you like to put in your portfolio for a commission to paint a portrait of the Queen?’
I thought, I can’t be hearing right and he had to repeat it. I put in my application and was chosen out of five other people to do it.
How did you feel when you heard you had been selected?
It was such an honour.
The Secretary General told me himself and for some reason I had my son there and when he told me I was wild with excitement, I was so happy. My son describes it best, he says I rugby tackled everyone in the room!
It is a real responsibility painting Her Majesty did you feel nervous?
I was quite nervous but decided to put it out of my mind.
I saw her five times at Buckingham Palace, lots of long walks down the corridors.
She is very good at putting you at your ease. When I went it dawned on me that the Queen would walk in the door and I thought, what do I do? I don’t even know how to curtsey so I started to practise.
I put one knee down, then I thought that’s not right so I tried the other one. Then I thought there must be a camera in this room, so someone must be watching me so I stopped. But the minute she walked in she was so fantastic she said, ‘Oh hello, we’ve met before. I unveiled your portrait of the Secretary General,’ and so on.
This is a portrait to celebrate not just the Jubilee, but also the Commonwealth. What does she think of it?
She has seen the basic form so she knows vaguely what it will be like.
Usually at the end of each portrait I am fairly pleased because I have come to a halt and I have done as much as I can. Then in a year or so it’s time I look at it and think, oh I could have done it this way or that way, but for now I am quite pleased.
The Queen is a great communicator. She’s observant, humorous, interesting and generous with her time. I hope I have succeeded in capturing some of these qualities in my painting.
I also wanted to refer to the past and the present, and to show that the strength of the Commonwealth lies in its cultural diversity. I decided the best way was to show different places, buildings and monuments united in an imaginary panorama.