Lightness of Being

Chris Levine

Lightness of Being, Chris Levine's unconventional portrait of Queen Elizabeth II with her eyes closed, is the artist's best known work. Levine explained that the portrait came about as a "happy accident". He was commissioned to create a holographic portrait of the Queen, using a high-resolution digital camera which moved along a rail taking 200 images over eight seconds. The queen was required to sit still for 8 seconds at a time and between the passes she closed her eyes to rest. Levine was struck by the unusual beauty of her meditative state and took the image, which turned out to be iconic.

Artist
Chris Levine (b.1960)
Title
Lightness of Being
Medium
Lenticular print
Date
2010
Size
27 x 19 in : 68.5 x 48.3 cm
Framed Size
34 ¼ x 26 ½ in : 87.0 x 67.0 cm
Edition
From the edition of 200
Inscriptions
Signed on the reverse
Provenance
Acquired directly from the artist
Reference
A22-97
Status
Available for sale, please enquire for price
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