Monday, June 20, 2011

Painting of the Day: A Portrait Miniature of Mary, the Princess Royal, 1912

Victoria Alexandra Alice Mary
The Princess Royal
Aged Fifteen Years
Turrell, 1912
The Victoria & Albert Museum
Painted in 1912 by Charles Turrell, this watercolor on ivory miniature shows the King George V’s and Queen Mary’s third child, Mary, the Princess Royal around age 15.


Wearing the Garter of the Order of Victoria and Albert, Mary looks quite a lot like her mother. With her creamy skin and wheat-colored curls, she carries herself with the same dignity that Queen Mary did.

Oddly enough, Turrell painted this miniature and never presented it to the King and Queen. Instead, he kept it. His widow presented the piece to the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1932.

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