God save the Queen — from bad art!
A new statue of Queen Elizabeth II has sparked a royal uproar among locals and elected officials in Northern Ireland — who say the artwork is a disrespectful “monstrosity” that “looks nothing like” Her Majesty.
“We have to be honest, it does not resemble the Queen in any shape or form,” Newtownabbey Councilor Vera McWilliam told BBC News.
The bronze sculpture, made by artist Anto Brennan, depicts the late Queen wearing a headscarf as she stands next to Prince Philip and two corgis at the Antrim Castle Gardens in Belfast.
The statue was unveiled on social media this week — and widely slammed as a stone-cold flop.
“I was rather confused who it was actually. If there wasn’t the caption underneath it probably would have taken about five minutes to work out who it was. There’s no similarity,” Richard Morris, an art historian and critic, told the Times of London. “The representation I think is entirely wrong, they really should have done better.”
“A gigantic garden gnome would have been better — a set of those would have been rather interesting,” he added.
Meanwhile, social media users fumed that the art was “definitely not the tribute she deserved” and called it an “insult to Her Majesty’s memory.”
“Whoever signed that off needs their eyes tested. It’s not good,” another commenter snarked.
The statue was commissioned by the town of Antrim in January 2023 to stand next to a pre-existing bronze sculpture of Prince Philip.
It’s meant to portray a young version of the Queen holding a handbag and gazing into the distance as her dogs look up at her.
But local critics said the statue’s face features a too-prominent nose and too-puffy cheeks to resemble the royal.
“The Queen is unrecognizable. She’s a catalogue countrywoman in a quilted gilet [vest]. The nose is too strong, the jaw too broad, the cheeks too swollen,” wrote London Times critic Laura Freeman.
But the artist did carve out one success, she said.
“Mind you, the corgis are good,” Freeman wrote.
A spokeswoman for the town council said responses to the new art had been “generally positive.”
“Art can sometimes spark diverse opinions, but it’s important to emphasize that the sculpture has been warmly received by most who have seen it in person,” she said.“The statue beautifully captures Her Majesty’s grace and steadfastness, standing as a fitting tribute to her extraordinary life and reign.”
