IN THE FRAME

Royal Society of Portrait Painters

ohn Wonnacott’s drawing of Prince Philip (above) was made when he was commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery in 2000. ‘The drawing was one of a number that I made during sittings with the Duke during 1999,’ writes John. ‘Although the Duke is the smallest figure in the painting, as the only member of the family group not descended from the Queen Mother, whose 100th birthday the picture was commissioned to celebrate, he is at the geometric centre with all the main perspective lines of my spatial design meeting at a vanishing point on his forehead. I built the picture in this way as it became clear during my sittings with the other members of the family just how important he was to them all.’ The sketch will be exhibited at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters’ annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries until 15 May and available to view online at