Her Majesty in the saddle: Queen Elizabeth poses on wooden horse at Buckingham Palace for American artist Arnold Friberg in previously unpublished behind-the-scenes shots
She was probably one of the most photographed women in the world. But very few people have ever seen Queen Elizabeth captured this way.
A series of ‘behind the scenes’ photographs, published here for the first time, show the late monarch posing in full riding regalia on a wooden ‘sawhorse’ for American artist Arnold Friberg at Buckingham Palace.
As the 2.5m by 5m masterpiece arrives in the UK for the first time, the Daily Mail can reveal the story behind the portrait and the monarch’s connection to the artist.
Friberg died in Salt Lake City in 2010 at the age of 96. In addition to being known for his work with horses, he was also nominated for an Oscar for his paintings in Hollywood director Cecil B DeMille’s 1956 epic The Ten Commandments.
In 1937, at the age of 24, Friberg was commissioned to create a series of paintings depicting the Mounties, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
And in 1978 he was chosen by a Mounties support group to paint a portrait of the then Prince of Wales.
To paint Charles, then 29, with his mother’s horse, he traveled to England and set up a studio in Buckingham Palace for six weeks. The project was so successful that when the group wanted to commission a portrait of the Queen 18 years later, they jumped at the opportunity to work with Friberg.
In a letter dated May 1990, his private secretary, Robert Fellowes, wrote that he offered the rare opportunity of several two-hour sessions.
A series of ‘behind the scenes’ photographs, published here for the first time, show the late monarch posing on a wooden ‘sawhorse’ for American artist Arnold Friberg.
The Daily Mail can reveal the story behind the portrait and the monarch’s link to the artist
Friberg and his wife Heidi were given permission to move back into Buckingham Palace for six weeks and set up a studio from home in the Yellow Room. He decided to place the piece in the palace gardens.
Friberg said it was a ‘pinch me’ moment, adding: ‘Who am I to be in Buckingham Palace and painting a royal portrait? ‘I’m just a kid who likes to draw.’
But the Queen, then 64, enjoyed his company so much and was so moved by his descriptions of her favorite horse, Centennial, that she would pop in to check on his progress.
Centennial was presented to the Queen in 1972 to celebrate 100 years of the Horsemen, who regularly supplied horses to the Royal Family for ceremonial occasions.
It seems the Queen deliberately chose to write her name with a single letter ‘n’ in order to ‘not be ordinary and stand out’.
Friberg said: ‘He’s a gorgeous, silky animal…so beautiful. He is small, but he had no difficulty in riding a horse. ‘He loves that horse.’
Over time, artist and sitter became comfortable with each other.
Reminding that their last session was on July 4, 1990 (American Independence Day), Friberg said that the Queen had just returned from her official visit to Canada.
‘ ‘If I fall asleep today, I’ll have jet lag,’ he said. And I said, “You made me work on our national holiday… I know what you’re doing, you’re avenging Bunker Hill.” [where hundreds of British troops died in the first battle of the American Revolution]”.We had a lot of fun.”
Friberg’s (left) painting of Charles was so successful that the Queen (right) jumped at the opportunity to work with him.
He added: ‘My wife Heidi was with me. He took my photo and he and the Queen nailed it right away. So the Queen is on the horse and they are chattering away.
‘My wife is a nurse and they were talking about the Prince’s condition’ [Charles] shoulder injury. He was injured in a polo accident and Heidi said: [the people who treated him] did something wrong…said they’d have to do it again [again].
‘The Queen says, ‘I thought so too, but no one listened to me.’
They were right; Charles had broken his arm in two places. It didn’t get better and had to be reset.
He added: ‘I was very nervous as I knew this was the last session and my camera wasn’t working.
‘The film wouldn’t wrap. He got off the horse and said: “Look, here’s what you’ve done. You see, you haven’t engaged the gear in the movie”.
‘And then he fixed it and said, ‘It’ll work now.’
Friberg, who was invited to become a member of the Royal Society of Arts, later said: ‘It makes me feel good to leave such a picture to the world.
‘There’s a certain shine to it [the Queen] to have She is a very beautiful lady. He enters the room and the lights in the room come on.’
The portrait was unveiled at the Governor’s House in Victoria, British Columbia, in August 1994, but hung in Friberg’s studio until his death.
Freedom Art Company purchased the collection from his family in 2022. They will display the portrait privately for the first time in the UK at Parliament next week, with a public exhibition early next year.
