The first portrait on the Bank of England banknote

“This is not the Queen we know”, “This is some kind of discount coupon, not a banknote” - similar criticism was met with the Bank of England's attempt to modernize the appearance of banknotes, for the first time in the design elements of the portrait of the Queen.

This step significantly increased the protection of the new series of banknotes from counterfeiting, since even the slightest change in the strokes in the portrait reproduced by counterfeiters would lead to a noticeable change in the perception of the portrait as a whole.

For such a responsible work, Robert Austin, a professor at the Royal College of Art, was chosen. It was decided to work from photographs, and not draw from life, because this gave more room to maneuver. The final version of the portrait was created after two years of work and was not based on any particular photograph, but rather was a generalized image of the 1956 photo shoot.

No one was completely satisfied with the result, and all further corrections only worsened the overall impression of the portrait. It was decided to show the banknote to the Queen. Her Majesty was generally pleased, but at the same time offered to make some changes to her image. In particular, She was worried about the lack of a cheekbone line in the portrait, which made her face look puffy.

However, the risk of spoiling the portrait with additional changes, despite the fact that the deadlines were running out, was great, so the wish was ignored, and on the first banknote in the history of Great Britain with the image of the Queen, Her Majesty looks a little arrogant and proud, with her head thrown back and full cheek.

Work on the subsequent denominations, designed by Robert Austin, was quickly phased out and another artist was brought in to work on the design of the £ 5 and £ 10 banknotes.


Author - https://instagram.com/alekseydobrovolsky