Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits from Holbein to Warhol,The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston: 7 October 2018 – 27 January 2019

Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits from Holbein to Warhol sheds new light on changing ideas of monarchy and nationhood in Britain. The exhibition features portraits of British royalty spanning 500 years, by artists from Hans Holbein and Sir Joshua Reynolds to Annie Leibovitz and Andy Warhol.

In a sweeping survey, Tudors to Windsors covers the cavalcade of kings, queens, princes, and princesses who have graced the British crown. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is the only U.S. venue to host this unprecedented exhibition, part of a major partnership with the National Portrait Gallery in London. Some 150 objects—most never before seen outside of England—tell the story of Britain’s monarchy through masterworks of painting, sculpture, and photography.

The archive was very pleased Terence Donovan’s 1990 portrait of Diana, Princess of Wales was selected as one of the lead images representing the exhibition. The photograph, from an official sitting which took place on the 26 February 1990, shows the Princess wearing a Victor Edelstein white gown with gold embroidery on the bodice and bolero jacket. Donovan undertook four portrait sittings with Diana between 1986 and 1990. The photograph on display is from a portfolio of portraits of the Princess of Wales gifted to the National Portrait Gallery by Donovan’s wife, Diana Donovan, in 1998.

More information about the exhibition can be found on the MFAH website here.

Further background about Donovan’s photographs of the Princess can be found in the Archive Stories section of our website.