Photos: Queen as commodity, muse for artists, fans
For a lifetime, she was everywhere all at once.
Queen Elizabeth II was a history-making sovereign, to be sure, but she was also a commodity, an artist’s muse, a conduit for self expression on the street, many streets in fact, well beyond those of Britain.
At 96, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch died Sept. 8 after a reign of 70 years, but her visage lives on, including her world famous profile. She has borne sculptures, gallery works — a huge portrait in Kosovo made entirely of corn, peas and beans.
Artist Alken Pozhega makes a giant portrait of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, made entirely of grain of corn, peas and beans in the town of Gjakova, Kosovo, Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Sylejman Kllokoqi)
Bonhams employee George Foren poses for photographs with a rare trial proof copy of Andy Warhol's 1985 portrait of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, at the auction house's offices in central London, July 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Models wear creations with portraits of, from left, U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, French Socialist presidential candidate Segolene Royal, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on their skirts, by Italian fashion designer Gattinoni for his Spring-Summer 2007 collection at Rome's Auditorium, Jan. 28, 2007. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)
Workmen install a new mural by Frederick Wimsett, of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II to mark her 90th birthday celebrations, in central London, April, 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
A woman works behind a nutcracker displaying the British Queen Elizabeth II, right, in the Richard Glaesser company, manufacturer of traditionally hand-made wooden Christmas decoration, in the toy village Seiffen, eastern Germany, Dec. 15, 2019. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)
A student, center, sitting on a mock-up of the royalty chair, looks at a wax figure of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, while others take souvenir photos, at the Madame Tussauds Museum in Beijing, China, Sept. 19, 2014. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
A doll of Queen Elizabeth II sits on the console of Osprey helicopter transporting members of the media traveling to the arrival of President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump at Blenheim Palace near Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, July 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Wellwishers holding a portrait of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II wait for her arrival in Melbourne, Australia, March 15, 2006. (AP Photo/Rick Stevens)
A man walks by a painting depicting Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in London during the 2012 Summer Olympics, July 27, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
A life size cardboard cutout image of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II stands next to souvenir items inside the Cool Britannia store near Buckingham Palace, in London, May 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Artist Carl Gabriel touches his sculpture made of wire depicting the head of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, made for the Jubilee Pageant, ahead of the Platinum Jubilee weekend, in London, June 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
A salesman watches televisions showing coverage of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, at an electronics shop in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, Sept. 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
A view of a sculpture by London based Italian artist Matt Marga "One Million Queen" which depicts a profile of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in London, Dec. 10, 2018. The sculpture has been defaced with Brexit graffiti. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland)
The Sydney Opera House is illuminated with a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in Sydney, Australia, Sept. 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
A group of corgi puppets made by puppet maker Louise Jones each one an individual and based on past and present Royal corgis, part of 'The Queen's Favourites' for the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, in Coventry, England, May 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
A display paying homage to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II outside the Sloane Club and Sloane Place, in London, as part of "Chelsea in Bloom" an alternative floral art show which runs alongside the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, in streets and venues nearby, May 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Flowers and items for Queen Elizabeth II are seen at the Green Park memorial, near Buckingham Palace, in London, Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A mourner with flowers carries a bag featuring an image of Queen Elizabeth II near the British Embassy, Sept. 9, 2022, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A tribute to the Queen is reflected on a taxi at Piccadilly Circus in London, Sept. 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
A man walks past a painting of Queen Elizabeth II displayed at a gallery in London, Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
A photo of Queen Elizabeth II is seen at a subway station in London, Sept. 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
For a lifetime, Queen Elizabeth II was everywhere all at once. See how artists around the world have portrayed the queen through the years.