Renowned artist Jeremy Houghton is creating a unique and exclusive body of work to celebrate the Jubilee
May 21, 2022 - Anya Meyerowitz
Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee has sparked all sorts of creativities among the British public, from Fortnum & Mason encouraging young bakers to create puddings fit for royalty, to auctions and fashion collaborations alike. Though we would hazard a guess that not all the creative endeavours of those in the Commonwealth will make it in front of the Queen's eyes, there is one artist who can be sure that his work will: Jeremy Houghton, is currently creating a unique and exclusive body of work to celebrate the Royal Jubilee. 'All the Queen's Horses' is to be held at London's prestigious Osbourne Gallery in June, and will celebrate the Queen's lifelong love of horses and the prominent role they have played in her public and private life.
More than that though, one of Jeremy's paintings will be presented to the Queen during the Jubilee weekend when she attends The Derby at Epsom Downs with members of her family on Saturday 4 June. And this is not the first time that the artist, who resides in The Cotswolds, has had a brush with royalty. He previously held residency at Windsor Castle, invited by the Queen to document the life of Windsor Castle. Here, much as in his new work, Jeremy focused on painting and sketching horses used for riding (including the Queen’s Fell ponies), driving, carriage work and military roles allowed him to capture the everyday rituals of a celebrated feature of the royal household.
Tatler caught up with the contemporary British artist to find out more about his history with the royals, his favourite of the Queen's horses and the process behind his latest body of work.
I was artist in residence for the Gentlemen at Arms in 2009 for their Quincentenary. They are based in St James’s Palace and are the Queen’s ceremonial bodyguard. With this job I painted in a number of the Royal palaces. Then, in 2012 I was invited by The Prince of Wales to be his artist in residence at Highgrove, which led on to doing a similar role at Windsor Castle for HM The Queen.
The two people who were most instrumental were the late Lord Vestey who was the Queen’s ‘Master of the Horse’ at the time. Also Colonel Toby Browne, the Crown Equerry, was extremely kind and helpful. It’s a big place so having these two wonderful men to show me the ropes was invaluable.
The portfolio I am currently working on - ‘All The Queen’s Horses’ - is using the Queen’s equestrian track record to tell the story of her 70 year reign. Her first pony ‘Peggy’ which was given to the Queen by her father when she was four-years-old, ignited a passion for all equestrian pursuits which has stayed with her throughout her life. Through the eyes of the horse one gets a very interesting perspective of both her private and public life.
I love her Windsor Greys which look so magnificent when they pull The Queen’s Carriage. I am also drawn to the cavalry regiments. The Queen’s relationship with the British military is very important, and the ceremonial duties these equestrian regiments fulfil is always very inspiring.
I have done a small painting of The Queen with one of her fell ponies called Balmoral Erika. These ponies come from the same lineage at Queen Victoria’s fell ponies which makes them very special to the Queen. She still rode these ponies until very recently and they are still an important part of her daily life.
The exhibition is a mixture of sketches and watercolours done in situ at the various Royal residencies where I have worked, along with more worked up larger oil paintings which I have completed at my Cotswold studio.
I always enjoy looking at sketchbooks and I will have a number of these on show at the exhibition. Look out for these!
It’s a great honour to have some of my work included in the Royal collection, especially considering the significance of this being The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.