‘Cabbage Patch’ Portrait of the Queen Mum on Display

A portrait of Queen Mother Elizabeth that critics said makes her look like a Cabbage Patch doll went on public display to mixed reviews today.

The painting, by 23-year-old Scottish artist Alison Watts, shows the Queen Mum seated informally in front of a fireplace beside an overturned tea cup.

The National Portrait Gallery in London that commissioned the painting expressed delight with the outcome and Watts said the Queen Mother, who will be 89 on Friday, was also pleased.

“I think it will shock people for about 10 to 15 seconds, then they will get used to it, and in six months it will be one of the most popular portraits of her,” said Robin Gibson, the gallery’s curator of 20th Century portraits. “It is taking the lid off the chocolate box.”

But art critic Brian Sewell was scathing.

“It’s absolutely terrible,” he said. “It makes her look like an ancient pensioner waiting for her 100th birthday telegram. It doesn’t look like the Queen Mother. Where is her sparkle and warmth?”

Watts, who had six sittings with the Queen Mother, said she did not want a conventional portrait painted.

“She always appears fluffy, light, wearing flowing clothes, and I wanted to make her more solid,” the painter said. “She has a lot of character and I didn’t want her to come across as a wee waif.”