A newly commissioned official painting of Catherine,
Duchess of Cambridge is seen at the National Portrait
Gallery in London. REUTERS/Andrew Winning
The first official portrait of Prince William's wife,
Catherine, has been unveiled in London, and the Duchess has
given the work a royal thumbs up.
Catherine, 31, attended the National Portrait Gallery on
Friday where artist Paul Emsley's work was revealed to a
private audience which included the Duke of Cambridge.
"I think, from what I can see this morning, she's delighted
with it. I'm very happy about that," Emsley said of
Catherine's reaction.
The award-winning artist was commissioned by the gallery to
capture Catherine and worked with the Duchess during a series
of photography sessions.
The larger-than-life sized head and shoulders painting shows
Catherine's flowing brunette hair and soft features against a
dark background.
"In discussions it became clear that what she wanted herself,
and I was very happy with that, was that the portrait should
convey her natural self as opposed to her official self,"
Emsley told reporters, as published by The Independent
online.
"The fact she is a beautiful woman is for an artist
difficult. In the end I think what I tried to do really was
to convey something about her warmth and her smile."
Asked of any royal feedback he received during the unveiling,
Emsley said Catherine, who has a history of art degree,
commented on the portrait: "It's just amazing".
The work was praised by prolific royal portrait artist
Richard Stone, who said Emsley is "brave" to have embarked on
a work of such large scale.
"It's very challenging to do something larger than life, and
he seems to have pulled it off very well," said Stone, whose
first royal commission was to paint the Queen Mother, which
he went on to do six times.
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