Irish artist to unveil picture of the Queen live on RTÉ

Tomorrow evening, Tuesday November 8, at a special event in London, Queen Elizabeth II will unveil a portrait of herself painted by Irish artist Colin Davidson.

RTÉ One will broadcast a special Nationwide programme, The Irishman Who Painted the Queen, at 7pm. Viewers will get a chance to see the portrait and hear the story behind it at the same time as The Queen is seeing it for the first time.

Colin's portrait of Angela Merkel (pictured below) was featured on the cover of Time magazine when she was selected as 2016's Person of the Year.

Colin's portraits are held throughout the world in collections at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC, the Ulster Museum in Belfast, and the National Gallery in Dublin.

Well-known figures who have sat for him in recent years include Brad Pitt (who famously asked the Irish artist if he could teach him how to paint), Liam Neeson, Jamie Dornan, Ed Sheeran, Brad Pitt, Tyson Furey, Glen Hansard, Rev Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness.

The painting was commissioned by the Chairman of Co-Operation Ireland, Christopher Moran, to mark Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday year and he involved an Irish artist to symbolise the bond among neighbours. Guests at the event will include the Tanaiste, Frances Fitzgerald and Northern Ireland’s First Minister and Deputy First Minister, Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness.

Colin Davidson was the artist behind The Silent Testimony Project which featured 18 individuals from North and South who were caught in The Troubles and he was praised for capturing a sense of empathy and intimacy. You can see stills from the exhibition here: