Prince William Portrait Bashed by Public, Defended by Artist
Prince William is used to public scrutiny, but now it's his portrait that is being panned by critics and the public. The portrait will be sold in October to raise money for The Victoria Cross Trust and War Memorials Trust, but it remains to be seen just how much people will pay for the portrait, which is not receiving high praise from anyone.
The portrait, entitled "Fatherhood," depicts William in a unique light. It was painted by Dan Llywelyn Hall, who also did a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II last year. That portrait was also slammed by the public, who insisted that the image was unflattering and did not capture the Queen.
"I'm convinced I achieved everything I wanted to and set out with the portrait," Hall told The Independent of the Queen's portrait. "I've had a tremendous reception and I'm totally indifferent to the reception of people – I really couldn't care."
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It's certainly not the first time a royal portrait has been bashed by the public. In addition to Queen Elizabeth's picture, one of Duchess Kate Middleton also received mixed reviews from the public. That portrait was done by Paul Emsley, who took a different approach and attempted to make the portrait look more like a photograph. Even though the portrait was called a "ghastly, rotten … disaster" by a British Art Journal critic, the Duchess herself loved the painting, as did her husband, William.
Another portrait of Middleton, done by critic Tom Sutton-Smith, won the heart of Prince William. He used a picture from her childhood to draw inspiration for the image, which was not favored by the public. He said his goal was to "capture her youthful spirit." "In all the photos one sees of her, she is smiling and laughing. Kate is kind of sparkly and I was trying to convey that in the eyes and mouth. Those are the hard bits to get right," he explained.
"Wow! It's brilliant!" William reportedly exclaimed upon seeing the portrait. "That's going up in my room."
One of the favorite portraits of Prince William was done by Nicky Philipps in 2010 and features him and his brother, Prince Harry, in a seemingly rare, private moment.
