Reaction to Kate Middleton’s official portrait were mixed, to say the least, so another artist has decided to have a go.
The Princess’ initial image by Paul Emsley was described by critics as “ghastly… rotten… an out and out disaster” when it was unveiled in January 2013 so English artist Tom Sutton-Smith painted another version, aiming to capture Kate’s “sparkly” personality in the painting.
“I was trying to convey her youthful spirit. The official portrait was serious, and in all the photos one sees of her she is smiling and laughing. She is kind of sparkly and I was trying to convey that in the eyes and mouth, which are the essential features to give character. There seems to be a trend to do super-realistic portraits, and I was trying to opposite to get some freedom into it.”
The finished work was presented to Kate and William this week by a friend of Sutton-Smith’s, who said that the couple were very impressed.
“When William saw it, he said, ‘Wow, it’s brilliant. That’s going up in my room,” he told People Magazine. “Her [Kate’s] face lit up. She was wowed by it. She reached out her arms to hold it and stared at it.”
The artist said he was delighted that his work had received such a positive reaction.
