Photography: Leibovitz In Royal Photoshoot Controversy
H.M. Queen Elizabeth II, (Sans Crown) by Annie Leibovitz
Mr. Keith Nolan recently referred to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as a ‘pompous old biddy’. His comment was made at the ‘State Of The Art’ web site.
Naturally as an ardent Royalist I have done what The Lord Chamberlain should have done, and replied to the offending blog. Long past the age when most women retire, and with no hope of reprieve, HM continues to represent and present the very best of Britishness with intelligence, poise and wit.
Previous photographs of the Queen by American photographer Annie Leibovitz have not met with critical acclaim. I have commented upon these images elsewhere.
It was during the shooting of more recent pictures that the Queen was reported to have ‘lost patience’, and walked out of the session. In fact this never occurred. A portrayal of the event on a BBC trailer was the result of inappropriate, (if not treasonous), editing. A BBC reporter has apologised for the improper depiction of the Monarch..
You may read both Mr. Nolan’s ‘comment’ and my ripostes here.
Kindly note: The image above is used as ‘Fair Use’ in the context illustration and comment. Images on the Internet may be subject to copyright.
July 13th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
Annie Leibovitz’s UK agent has criticised elements of the press for its sensationalist coverage of the photographer’s portrait session with The Queen following the BBC’s TV editing mix-up.
Neil Burgess, the founder of NB Pictures, said he was already ‘pretty angry’ at the portrayal of Liebovitz as depicted in the trailer for the upcoming documentary.
However, he told Amateur Photographer magazine that his fury was further intensified by subsequent newspaper coverage of the furore.
Though Leibovitz has so far maintained a ‘dignified silence’ on the matter, Burgess, the UK representative of the American’s picture agency Contact Press Images, told us: ‘I was pretty angry about Annie being slagged off, but mostly about the state of our press where this so-called story made the front page of the Sun [yesterday] and the Daily Mail [today].’
The Mail focused on the BBC’s apology to The Queen.
Burgess also condemned makers of such TV programmes for appearing to treat the recording of history as ‘some sort of game show’.
The BBC and production company RDF are understood to have apologised to both The Queen and Annie Leibovitz for the editing blunder.
As we reported earlier, BBC One’s controller said he has no plans to resign over the matter.
For details click here:
BBC man speaks out
July 13th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
Chris,
Bless you. You have made a good point in drawing attention that Annie Leibovitz and The Queen deplore the misrepresentation of this photoshoot.
Personally, I think Ms. Leibovitz images are far too theatrical and dramatic. They are not representative of either Elizabeth, or the Monarch, however, technically they are difficult to fault.
Stephen
July 6th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
this picture shows the power of the queen, totally different to that of most other images of past monarchs
July 9th, 2008 at 10:47 am
I am a royalist, but I also think that this image by Ms. Leibovitz although technically good really is in the style of another era. It’s very much in the tradition of C19 oil portraiture, rather than photography. It conveys our Queen imprisoned in the pomp of her monarchy.
Actually I disagree totally with Sir Roy Strong. He is critical of Norman Parkinson’s triptych of the Queen, her mother, and her sister which I think combined both the power and human-scale of the monarchy appropriately.
Cecil Beaton’s classic photograph of the early monarch is also a more pleasing image. Rankin’s image says more about Rankin than the Queen.
Stephen BRAY
P.S. I have looked at your web-site. I suspect that the College of Arms hasn’t approved the ‘device’ you have posted there, and if this is the case they would be within their rights in asking that you remove it.
July 13th, 2008 at 10:55 am
[...] Sir Roy Strong doesn’t care for Norman Parkinson’s triptych portrait of our Queen, her mother, and sister but I think it pure theatre, human at its best, and far better than more recent works by Rankin and Leibovitz. [...]