A unique collection of royal portraits will become Dundee’s first V&A exhibition later this year.
The McManus art gallery and museum is to be the first place in the UK to host the display of portraits of the Queen by Cecil Beaton to celebrate her diamond jubilee.
The exhibition will run from September 30 to January 8 and is the first in a series of partnership projects between the McManus and the V&A as part of the run-up to construction and eventual opening of the V&A in Dundee.
Fiona Hyslop, cabinet secretary for culture and external affairs, said, “Part of the £5 million of government funding that I announced in January included support for the pre-opening programme of exhibitions that will begin with this outstanding selection of Cecil Beaton’s royal photography.
“The V&A will be a stunning landmark building on Dundee’s waterfront, and the funding is a reflection of the significance we attach to this project as a showcase for our creative industries and as a magnet for visitors, enhancing Scotland’s reputation as a creative nation.
“I am delighted the programme is starting with such an appealing free exhibition that provides just a foretaste of the unparalleled shows that Scotland will enjoy in future from the V&A.”
Dundee City Council leisure, arts and communities convener Bob Duncan said, “I am delighted that this exhibition is coming to Dundee. It will act as an additional attraction to the McManus, which is a hugely popular destination in the city.
“People of Dundee and further afield are excited at the prospect of the V&A at Dundee, and this exhibition shows how the partnership is already delivering benefits.”
Lesley Knox, the chairwoman of Design Dundee, the company delivering the V&A at Dundee, said, “We are looking forward to an exciting and varied range of exhibitions from the V&A over the next four years as we work towards opening our new building.”
The images in the exhibition depict the Queen and royal family, contrasting highly staged state occasions with intimate family moments.
It charts how the representation of the royals has changed and also examines Beaton’s working methods, styles and approaches, revealing him as one of the 20th century’s masters of photography.
Beaton’s royal portraits were among the most widely published photographs of the 20th century. The exhibition explores his long relationship with the Queen, who was a teenage princess when she first sat for him in 1942.
Over the next three decades, he photographed her on many significant occasions, including her coronation day.
The exhibition in Dundee will feature over 60 items, from wartime photographs of Princess Elizabeth with her family, to tender images of the Queen with her own young children and official portraits that convey the magnitude of her role as Britain’s monarch.
An expanded exhibition will be hosted at the V&A in London from February 8 to April 22 next year.
The display will then visit Leeds City Museum, Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery, and Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle.