Coronation artwork revealed ahead of State Portrait unveiling

Artwork detailing some of the most significant moments of The Coronation weekend have been revealed for the first time, ahead of the second anniversary of the occasion. Their release comes as The King and Queen prepare to unveil the recently completed official Coronation State Portraits. 

As part of The Coronation celebrations, His Majesty commissioned five artists to capture some of the most significant moments of the weekend. Inviting artists to sketch, paint and draw scenes from The Coronation continues a long tradition of such commissions by other sovereigns and reflects Their Majesties’ shared appreciation of the arts and creative industries.

The King selected four Royal Drawing School alumni to capture events they witnessed from positions along the procession route.

Fraser Scarfe was outside Buckingham Palace and Gideon Summerfield was at Trafalgar Square. Phoebe Stannard was at Westminster Abbey, and artist and illustrator Shana Lohrey was invited to Windsor Castle to capture the atmosphere, crowds and ambience of The Coronation Concert.

Eileen Hogan, an Emeritus Professor at the University of the Arts London and a Trustee of the Royal Drawing School, was commissioned to paint the Coronation Service itself from within Westminster Abbey; making her the first woman to have been appointed in this role.

The artworks were completed over a number of months before being presented to The King at Clarence House in September 2024. They have now been entrusted into The Royal Collection. 

A short film of His Majesty viewing a selection of the artworks and conversing with their creators is available on The Royal Family YouTube channel.

In the film, Phoebe Stannard says: “It’s just been so nice to finally be able to show him [His Majesty] what we made. It feels like such a long time ago in some ways. It’s been really nice to come back and look at it and also be able to show it to him [His Majesty] and remember all those amazing moments of the day.”

Phoebe also describes how she chose to do a series of monoprints that are about the things that “go on around the ceremony, the parts that make it happen and the background scenes”.

Fraser Scarfe, who studied at the Royal Drawing School between 2012-13, and is now Head of Education Delivery there, added: “There were so many incredible moments during the day. For me, the real standout moment was the moment when Their Majesties went out onto the balcony and the crowds were able to come and stand in front of Buckingham Palace and celebrate The Coronation. And it was that moment that I thought really stood out to me; the joy of the people; the mass of people waving flags; and coming through to cheer and celebrate was such a special moment, and that’s really the moment I felt I should focus my largest work on.”

Mr Scarfe recently joined Their Majesties on their State Visit to Italy, becoming the first official royal tour artist to document a State Visit using an iPad alongside traditional methods.

Describing his painting ‘The Coronation – Back to The Palace’, Gideon Summerfield says: “On the day, I was painting from Trafalgar Square and I was very encapsulated by the view I had. 

“What was really challenging was the perspective…to try and get both angles right. And what centres it is the carriage; the golden carriage on their [majesties] return back to Buckingham Palace.” 

Eileen Hogan added: “When I was appointed to paint the Coronation from Westminster Abbey, I was very aware that I was the first woman to be appointed in this historical role, and then I thought ‘What details could a painting bring that modern-day TV cameras could not?’. The more I thought about it, my conclusion was that the stillness of a painting really isolates and intensifies significant moments, and emphasises meaning; whether that be ritualistic, spiritual, or simply extremely human.”

Background on His Majesty’s Art Initiatives

His Majesty, as Prince of Wales, established The Royal Drawing School (formerly known as The Prince’s Drawing School) in 2000. The King is also a watercolourist himself and commissions artists to accompany him on overseas tours. This summer, visitors to the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace will see a special exhibition, The King’s Tour Artists, featuring over 70 works of art from His Majesty’s own collection, many on public display for the first time. An accompanying publication, The Art of Royal Travel: Journeys with The King, will further explore and celebrate this special royal tradition and will feature recollections from the artists and over 100 illustrations, telling the behind-the-scenes stories of the tours from a unique perspective.

Background on the art

Phoebe Stannard

• Phoebe created nine monotype prints on Somerset paper
  • ‘The Spur’ (76 x 56.6cm)
  • ‘The Heralds Waiting’ (76 x 56.6cm)
  • ‘Packed Lunch’ (76 x 56.6cm)
  • ‘Farriers on Hand!’ (56.6 x 76cm)
  • ‘At the very front of the procession’ (56.6 x 76cm)
  • ‘Hubert the Hat’ (56.6 x 76cm)
  • ‘Waiting in the Rain’ (56.6 x 76cm)
  • ‘Officers in the holding area during the Coronation Ceremony’ (56.6 x 76cm)
  • ‘Getting ready for the gun salute’ (56.6 x 76cm)
• Phoebe was positioned at Westminster Abbey

Fraser Scarfe

• Fraser’s art, titled ‘Saluting the crowds’ is acrylic and oil on wooden panels
• It measures at 180 x 120cm
• As described in the video, Fraser’s painting started on location outside of Buckingham Palace, and comprises of 24 small panels
• Alongside ‘Saluting the crowds’ Fraser created a wider range of works in different media, including digitally on an iPad.

Gideon Summerfield

• Gideon’s triptych, titled ‘The Coronation – Back to The Palace’ is oil and acrylic on canvas
• Gideon was positioned at Trafalgar Square
• His painting on three panels measures a total of 300 x 160 cm (each panel is 100 x 160cm)
• Two of Gideon’s sketches feature in the video at 00:04 and 00:05, and he also create a number of compositional drawings. 

Shana Lohrey

• Shana Lohrey’s painting is a watercolour on paper
• It measures at 72 x 78.9cm

Eileen Hogan

• Eileen was positioned inside Westminster Abbey during Their Majesties Coronation.
• She completed 17 paintings.
• Five oil and wax paintings on paper are available to the media.