The first official portrait of Britain’s Duchess of Cambridge, popularly known by her former name Kate Middleton, was unveiled in London on Friday, and opinion was sharply divided over an image many deemed unflattering.
The 31-year-old, who, as a glamorous future queen, is one of the world’s most photographed women, is portrayed in the large canvas with a faint smile, long, copper-tinted hair and shadows under her eyes.
Award-winning South African artist Paul Emsley, surrounded by a scrum of international news crews at the National Portrait Gallery where the work was revealed, described the duchess as a “wonderful subject” and “generous as a person.
“The brief was that it should be a portrait which in some way expressed her natural self rather than her official self,” he said.
“When you meet her, that really is appropriate. She really is that kind of a person. She’s so nice to be with and it’s genuine and I felt if the painting can convey something of that then it will have succeeded.”
Glasgow-born Emsley grew up in South Africa, where he worked as a lecturer at Stellenbosch University. He moved to the UK in 1996. His previous work includes a portrait of former South African president Nelson Mandela.
For full story: SA artist’s official portrait of Kate gets mixed reviews | Arts and Culture | Art and Design | Mail & Guardian.
