The sculptress Mary Gillick was able to get to know Queen Elizabeth II in a very special way in 1953. Her modern image of the queen will soon be on display in an exhibition.
Windsor – To mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee, the work of artist Mary Gaskell Gillick OBE (84, †1965) will be featured in a very special exhibition in London. Gillick was chosen, in months-long sessions with the then 25-year-old Queen Elizabeth II (95) after her accession to the throne in February 1952, to create an effigy of the head of state who was crowned in June 1953 for coins.*
Queen Elizabeth II: This artist created the modern portrait of the Queen
What is unimaginable in the digital age required tremendous artistry 70 years ago and was a great honor for Mary Gillick. In sessions lasting from March to October 1952, she was allowed to get particularly close to the young Queen Elizabeth II* under the strict eyes of her husband Prince Philip* (99, †2021). Her assignment was to sculpt the Queen’s head.
The purpose of the exercise was to create the Queen’s likeness for coinage. It should appear on the new decimal currency. But a lot of water still flowed down the Thames until Great Britain and Ireland were the last European country to part with British and Irish 20 shillings and 240 pence according to the Carolingian coinage system in 1971.
Queen Elizabeth II: The relief of the young Elizabeth can still be seen today
Gillick’s work can still be admired today. A cameo of the royal relief has been used on British commemorative stamps since 1966. The original image still appears today on the Maundy set given out by the Queen each Easter. The coin set, also known as Maundy Money, consists of specially minted silver coins, which the British rulers distributed to poor fellow citizens for the first time in 1662 on Maundy Thursday in centuries.
Gillick would certainly have liked the first new commemorative coin to mark the platinum anniversary. In her day, the production of the master piece would have taken years, because it shows Queen Elizabeth II doing her favorite hobby*.
Queen Elizabeth II: Mary Gillick was honored with a medal for her work
In the summer, the British Museum will exhibit not only medals and the sculptor’s stamps, but also large-format plaster models of the regent. A measure of how close the artist and Queen became during their meetings is that Gillick was awarded the OBE (Order of the British Empire) at the 1953 coronation ceremonies.
The free exhibition will open on June 2nd and be on view in London until July 31st. *24royal.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
List of rubrics: © Steve Parsons/dpa
