Top Selling Pictures

Queen Elizabeth II by Pietro Annigoni in the ILN

Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and Head of the Commonwealth (born 1926), by Pietro Annigoni 1953.
Pietro Annigoni (7 June 1910 to 28 October 1988) was an Italian portrait and fresco painter, who became world famous after painting Queen Elizabeth II in 1956.
His work bore the influence of Italian Renaissance portraiture, and was in contrast to the modernist and post-modernist artistic styles that dominated the middle and late twentieth century. He was known for his romantic portrayal of the young Queen Elizabeth II in 1956, as well as for his portraits of Pope John XXIII, US Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, the Shah and Empress of Iran, Princess Margaret and several other members of the British royal family.
Pietro Annigoni was chosen by TIME magazine to paint President of the United States John F. Kennedy for the (January 5) 1962 Person of the Year cover. The result was perhaps his worst portrait as Kennedy would not sit still and Annigoni had no time or inclination to satisfy Time magazine. Other TIME magazine covers that featured portraits by Annigoni were the issues of October 5, 1962 (Pope John XXIII), November 1, 1963 (Ludwig Erhard), and April 12, 1968 (Lyndon B. Johnson).
Other subjects around the world that Annigoni painted include HRH Prince Phillip and several other members of the House of Windsor as well as the shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo, Florentine author Luigi Ugolini, ballet legend Dame Margot Fonteyn, British actress Julie Andrews, Russian ballet star Rudolf Nureyev, American actress and poet Vanna Bonta as a girl, and the Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur. An outspoken artist who did not refrain from iconoclasm toward his perception of passing or superficial social trends, Annigoni wrote essays challenging modern art that disregarded the basic ability to draw. He alienated critics, who claimed his art was too representational, discounting the unique dramatic signature the artist brought to Renaissance tradition.

© Mary Evans Picture Library 2015 - https://copyrighthub.org/s0/hub1/creation/maryevans/MaryEvansPictureID/10511403

Goodbye Old Man - Soldier and dying horse during WWI

Goodbye Old Man is a striking image of a soldier bidding farewell to his fatally injured horse. Goodbye Old Man was commissioned by the Blue Cross in 1916 to raise money to help horses on active service.
The artist is Fortunino Matania and it is one of his most famous war-time illustrations. Fortunino Matania (1881 - 1963) was born in Naples.
During and after the war, his work adorned many a history book. During the 1st World War Matania mainly worked for the British magazine The Sphere as their star illustrator, usually producing one full page illustration or more per weekly issue.
He was also employed by the British government and commissioned by individual British regiments. He visited the front several times which allowed him to view wartime conditions at first hand and talk with soldiers about their experiences. From sketches and memory he could then finish a painting, often within a few days.

© Mary Evans Picture Library 2015 - https://copyrighthub.org/s0/hub1/creation/maryevans/MaryEvansPictureID/10046868

Highclere Castle CC72_01054

HIGHCLERE CASTLE, Highclere, Hampshire. The exterior of the largest mansion in Hampshire from the north-east. An Elizabethan-style remodelling of an earlier classical mansion by Sir Charles Barry in 1839-42 for Henry Herbert, 3rd Earl of Carnarvon. Photographed in 1890s by Henry Taunt. Film location for ' Downton Abbey '.

© Historic England