The "Queen Mum" as she was popularly called late in life, lived at a time when photographic portraiture became dominant over painted portraiture. However, due to her royal standing, she was portrayed using oil paints on canvas a number of times.
Some of the images are from the Royal collection and some others are from the National Portrait Gallery and are copyrighted. They are used here to illustrate how various artists chose to portray her over the years, influenced by current artistic fashions and by their own artistic backgrounds.
This drawing was made the same year Elizabeth married Albert, Duke of York, who later unexpectedly became King George VI.
This is essentially an oil sketch, though the artist signed it as a finished work. It does not flatter her, in part due to the rough brushwork on her face.
He was a leading portrait artist, and this is one of his best-known paintings.
There seems to be something wrong here having to do with her eyebrows, upper nose, and eyes.
Compared to the two paintings below that were made not long after, it seems that Lander might have shown Elizabeth as looking younger than she was.
I cropped this image slightly.
Kelly painted several portraits of her. This has a particularly "official" feeling -- note the crown at the left.
Cursiter was skilled at portraying attractive women, but something went wrong when he depicted her arms.
This is similar in spirit to 1960s American magazine illustration by the likes of the great Bernie Fuchs. That said, I place this on par with the fine de Laszlo portrait shown above.
Elizabeth was now in her late eighties, but this somehow doesn't seem quite like her.
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