O new portrait in King Charles III It underwent a small renovation on Tuesday. The controversial Painting by Jonathan Yeowhich opened in May, was hanging in the Philip Mold Gallery in London, England, when two activists and a cameraman from the group Animal Ascension ran to cover the piece with what appeared to be stickers.
In a video shared by Animal Rising, Charles’ face is covered by an image of Wallace from Wallace and Gromit cartoon. A speech bubble is also stuck to the painting, which reads: “No cheese, Gromit. Look at all this cruelty on RSPCA farms!”
King Charles III is the royal patron of the RSPCA, and Animal Rising is demanding that the British monarch “abandon the Guaranteed Scheme”, claiming that they investigated the farms and found “various animal cruelty at each one”.
The portrait is currently on display at Philip Mold Gallery until June 21, and artist Yeo was due to visit the gallery on Tuesday.
Before the activists’ statement, the portrait was already a bit controversial when it was unveiled in May.
Yeo – who has produced portraits of Prince Philip and Queen Camilla in the past – portrayed the sovereign mainly in shades of red while dressed in the uniform of the Welsh Guards. King Charles holds a sword in his hands while a butterfly is seen above his right shoulder. In between your battle with cancer and after treatmentCarlos returned to public commitments at the end of April and he revealed the portrait himself. As he pulled back the curtain covering the art, he initially seemed surprised by what he saw.
“It was a privilege and a pleasure to have been commissioned by The Drapers’ Company to paint this portrait of His Majesty the King, the first to be unveiled since his coronation. When I began this project, His Majesty the King was still His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, and much like the butterfly I painted hovering over his shoulder, this portrait has evolved as the subject’s role in our public life has transformed,” Yeo said in a statement. “I do my best to capture the life experiences and humanity etched into any individual sitter’s face, and I hope that’s what I achieved in this portrait. To try and capture that for His Majesty the King, who occupies such a unique role, It was a tremendous professional challenge, which I really enjoyed and for which I am immensely grateful.”
This is not the first time that a portrait of King Charles has been vandalized. In July 2023, spray painted climate activists over a portrait of Charles in the Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh.
Neither the Philip Mold Gallery nor the Royal Family have publicly commented on the incident.
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