Andy WARHOL - Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (FS II.340)

Queen Beatrix 340 was created in 1985 and forms a part of Andy Warhol’s celebrated series from that year, Reigning Queens: Royal Edition. This consisted of portraits of four female monarchs in their own right, rather than those married to a King. The four female monarchs were Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Queen Ntombi la Tfwala of Swaziland and Queen Beatrix, who in turn had succeeded her mother, Queen Juliana. In this way, Warhol has deliberately and light-heartedly included the Queen of the Netherlands in his vast pop pantheon alongside the artists, stars, transvestites and socialites who fill his pictures, aligning her with the broad sweep of popular culture which he had made his own realm.