05/02/2007
Annie Leibovitz Takes on The Queen
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Annie Leibovitz has released a new portrait of the Queen of England ahead of the monarch's six-day trip to the United States. Leibovitz said she wanted to make a very traditional portrait. Critics are divided.
British critic William Feaver said, "I think on these occasions tradition is good. You do not want to see Her Majesty breakdancing or bathing in a vat of asses' milk. [The portrait is] a post-Oscar type production. It is the stand-in for Dame Helen Mirren in her own location being rather commanding but not really at ease with this army of American photographers glamming her up for Vanity Fair."
Washington Post critic Henry Allen said: "It looks like something you might see in a catalogue offering the Queen herself for sale. The Queen's face has an utterly public quality that approaches, to me, dead, with all the personality of a marble bust of George Washington. I wonder if there isn't a line of people having to wait to have their picture taken in the same chair, the same costume, perhaps one of those little cut-outs you stick your head through."
The Daily Mirror tabloid called it "Queen's Mirren Image".
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Michael D-
Here in the UK the monarchy is greater then its parts. It is a living representation of the values of tradition and history which are respected and admired. Most people here are proud of our British heritage and standing in the world, and the monarchy are part and parcel of that. Furthermore, their is value that the current monarchy make to trade relations which will be part and parcel of the upcoming tour of the queen. Regardless, the royal family provides us Brits with an institution that offers a connection to our past, and in Elizabeth a voice of reassurance and civility.
Posted by: Steve | May 3, 2007 9:37:07 AM
The pose and clothes kinda reminds me of Elizabeth Taylor's recent birthday pictures.
Posted by: WTF | May 3, 2007 12:02:15 PM