In 2014 England’s greatest portrait photographer, David Bailey, shot the world’s most famous monarch, Her Majesty The Queen, and managed to get her to laugh, resulting in one of the most endearing pictures ever taken of this great British icon. “I asked her if her jewelry was real,” Bailey recalls. “She’s charismatic with a twinkle in her eye.” In celebration of Her Majesty turning 95 on April 21, David Bailey and TASCHEN have produced an edition of 500 extra-large prints, signed by the artist.
The image was used for the cover of the 2020 edition of Her Majesty, the critically acclaimed, definitive photographic history of her majesty’s public and private life from 1926 to the present day. Brimming with history, tradition, glamour, and culture, the book spans the Queen’s early years right through to her most recent state tours and ceremonies. Along the way, we trace her coming of age during World War II; her marriage and unique partnership with the much missed Prince Philip; motherhood, and coronation; her encounters with such icons of their age as JFK and Marilyn Monroe, and her extensive international travels and royal tours.
The edition offers as much a showcase of top photographers as a royal celebration: alongside Bailey, Her Majesty includes the work of such luminaries as Cecil Beaton, Studio Lisa, Dorothy Wilding, Yousuf Karsh, Lord Snowdon, Patrick Lichfield, Wolfgang Tillmans, Harry Benson, Nick Knight, and Annie Leibovitz. “She’s someone that I admire and always wanted to photograph,” concludes Bailey, and the results can be enjoyed in this magnificent, limited art edition print.
Cover Photo: © David Bailey, TASCHEN
In 2014, England’s greatest portrait photographer David Bailey, shot the world’s most famous monarch, Her Majesty The Queen. Charming her to exude a radiant smile, what resulted is one of the most endearing pictures ever taken of this great British icon. “I asked her if her jewellery was real,” Bailey recalls. “She’s charismatic with a twinkle in her eye, the kind of person I admire and like to photograph.”
In celebration of Her Majesty turning 95 on April 21, David Bailey and TASCHEN have produced an edition of 500 signed by the artist.
© David Bailey, TASCHEN
Charming her to exude a radiant smile, what resulted is one of the most endearing pictures ever taken of this great British icon. “I asked her if her jewellery was real,” Bailey recalls. “She’s charismatic with a twinkle in her eye, the kind of person I admire and like to photograph.”
London-born David Bailey (b. 1938) is widely acknowledged as one of the founding fathers of contemporary photography, having shot some of the most iconic portraits of the last six decades. Bailey’s early work helped both define and capture 1960s London, when he made stars of a new generation of models, including Jean Shrimpton and Penelope Tree. Bailey channeled the energy of London’s informal street culture to create a new style of casual coolness. Drawing inspiration from Modernism, he injected movement and immediacy into his work by using a very direct, cropped perspective. Bailey’s interests extend to commercials, film, painting, and sculpture.
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