Queen Elizabeth II (F. & S. II.334 - 337) (complete set)
Queen Elizabeth II (F. & S. II.334 - 337) (complete set)
Signed Print
Andy Warhol
100 x 80cm, Edition of 40, Screenprint, 1985
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Meaning & Analysis
Queen Elizabeth II (F. & S. II.334–337) is a complete set of four signed screenprints by Andy Warhol, made in 1985 in an edition of 40. Each sheet shows the same portrait of the Queen wearing a tiara, pearl necklace and sash, printed in a different colourway against grounds of deep red, purple, hot pink and royal blue. It belongs to the Reigning Queens series.
Across the four sheets of Queen Elizabeth II, the image stays the same while the colour changes completely. In one, the Queen’s pale face sits against a deep red-brown ground, with a yellow gown and blocks of green, pink and pale blue around her. In another, a dark purple ground sets off a turquoise gown, with blocks of orange and pale cream to either side. The third is the brightest, with a hot pink ground and the tiara and necklace printed in gold. In the last, a royal blue ground frames a face split into peach and pale grey, with blocks of pink and red. Fine coloured lines trace her features and hair in each sheet, set slightly out of step with the image beneath.
The Reigning Queens series portrays the four ruling queens of 1985: Elizabeth II, Beatrix of the Netherlands, Margrethe II of Denmark and Ntombi Twala of Swaziland, now Eswatini. Warhol based these four prints on the Queen’s official Silver Jubilee portrait. Seen together they show how much his colour choices could change the mood of a single image, from warm and stately to cool and electric. As a complete set of the series’ most recognised subject, it is among the most sought-after groups in Warhol’s late printmaking.
