“It was her duty sitting for photographs – part of what she did. And she totally gave herself over to the process, to the photographer, or the artist or the painter, to use their creativity and their imagination.”
—Annie Leibovitz on Queen Elizabeth II
Annie Leibovitz, one of the world’s most renowned portrait photographers, was invited by the Royal Household to photograph Queen Elizabeth II in 2007. As the first American to create an official portrait of Her Majesty, she recalls: ‘I felt honoured. I also felt that because I was an American, I had an advantage over every other photographer or painter who had made a portrait of her. It was ok for me to be reverent.’ Drawing inspiration from traditional royal portraits, including those by Cecil Beaton, Leibovitz’s skilful use of post-production techniques imbues her exquisite tableaux with a sense of history. The work on offer here was included in the artist’s Master Set, a selection she made of her most important images.