Princess Helena, later Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (1846-1923) Signed and dated 1864
Oil on canvas | 41.0 x 30.5 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 403988
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Born in Freiburg im Breisgau, Graefle studied in Munich with two artists of the ‘Nazarene movement’, Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794-1872) and Peter von Cornelius (1784-1867). He was a close associate of Franz Xaver Winterhalter and was sometimes employed by the royal family as a worthy and more tractable substitute. Princess Helena (1846-1923), nicknamed Lenchen, was the fifth child and third daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. She was lively, outspoken and something of a tomboy. In 1866, two years after this portrait was painted, she married Prince Christian of Schleswig Holstein and in 1916 they celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary; she was the only child of Queen Victoria to do so. Queen Victoria recorded in her Journal that ‘Lenchen’s picture by Graefle, is extremely good & pretty’. Signed and dated: A Graefle /1864.
Provenance
Painted for Princess Helena as a birthday present for Queen Victoria on 24 May 1864.
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Creator(s)
(artists' materials maker)(framemaker)Acquirer(s)
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Subject(s)
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Medium and techniques
Oil on canvas
Measurements
41.0 x 30.5 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
60.5 x 47.0 x 7.0 cm (frame, external)
Category
Object type(s)