27 May 2004 12:26
Art show in London marks 450 years of Russian-British diplomatic relations
London, 27 May: An art exhibition to mark the 450th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between
Russia and Britain entitled "History in Portraits" opened at the Russian embassy in London on Wednesday [26
May].
Visitors have been given a rare opportunity to see works by well-known Russian-British artist Sergey Pavlenko. Most
of the portraits of a number of British aristocrats and members of the royal family have been kept in private
collections and have never been displayed in public.
The most well-known work by Pavlenko, who opened his series of celebrity portraits of in 1991, is a portrait of Queen
Elizabeth II. Britain's oldest guild, the Drapers' Company, ordered the portrait for its grand meeting hall in
2000. The monarch herself said that the portrait, which was produced in a ceremonial style, was her "favourite
portrait since the coronation".
Pavlenko's exhibition will be also held in Moscow in order to unite both countries symbolically, through
cultural links. The "History in Portraits" exhibition will be held at the British embassy in Russia on 21-25
June and will enable visitors to see a British tradition that virtually disappeared in Russia in the 20th century: the
tradition of continuing the line of family portraits.
[RIA news agency] |
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