Artists Inspired by the Death of Queen Elizabeth

Credit: Sue Norman, Facebook

Queen Elizabeth II’s lavish funeral has resulted in an incredible array of stunning photographs. The monarch’s passing has also inspired individual artists to imagine her afterlife in color, create public art and share sketches on social media — several of which have gone viral.

In Australia, sand artist Sue Norman spent three hours on the morning of the queen’s funeral creating a 12-meter wide sand mandala that resembled her portrait on a coin, according to ABC Radio Adelaide. Shortly before Norman finished, a monarch butterfly flew across the drawing — which remained until the tide came in, washing it away.

Artwork by Kerri Cunningham

Meanwhile, British illustrator Kerri Cunningham from Lancaster found that a sketch she’d posted on Instagram of Queen Elizabeth reunited with her husband, Philip, had gone viral. Cunningham told The Washington Post that the drawing was based on a photo she’d seen of the queen with Philip and her children in Scotland. In her sketch, Cunningham also included one of the queen’s favored dogs: a corgi.

Artwork by Graeme Bandeira

Corgis have made an appearance in many artistic depictions before and after Queen Elizabeth’s death. A crying corgi created by Yorkshire artist Graeme Bandeira also went viral, suggesting that the monarch was mourned by her animals as well as her other subjects.

Credit: Eleanor Tomlinson Art

Yorkshire-based artist Eleanor Tomlinson, who earlier this year shared a sketch of Queen Elizabeth with Paddington Bear that went viral, also included a corgi. Tomlinson told the BBC that she was touched to see her artwork appear among flowers with tributes in London. “I’m really honored and overwhelmed,” she said. Still, Tomlinson was upset that unauthorized copies of the sketch had been sold for a profit without her permission.

These are just some of the varied artistic renderings inspired just prior to, or shortly after, Queen Elizabeth’s death on September 8. Given the manner in which her death has reverberated across the globe, it’s likely there will be many more to come.