Prince Charles holds largest exhibit of his watercolours to date
The largest ever exhibition of artworks created by Prince Charles has opened at the Garrison Chapel in Chelsea Barracks, a recently restored chapel in a converted army barracks in London’s Belgravia district.
A painting enthusiast, Prince Charles has extolled the benefits of art, saying it “transports me to another dimension”, that painting is "one of the most relaxing and therapeutic exercises I know," and that it "refreshes parts of the soul which other activities can't reach."
The exhibition contains 79 of the prince’s paintings of landscapes of the French countryside, the Scottish Highlands, and Tanzania, which is one of Charles’ favourite places to paint. He regularly paints the family’s estates, including Balmoral Castle and Sandringham House, and has also produced works depicting Turkey, Nepal, and the Swiss Alps.
As for why he started painting, Charles said, "I took up painting entirely because I found photography less than satisfying. Quite simply, I experienced an overwhelming urge to express what I saw through the medium of watercolor and to convey that almost 'inner' sense of texture which is impossible to achieve via photography."
Like Queen Victoria before him, Charles is a “keen watercolourist” who “paints whenever his schedule allows”. Of his early works, he said, "I am under no illusion that my sketches represent great art or a burgeoning talent! They represent, more than anything else, my particular form of 'photograph album' and, as such, mean a great deal to me."
While the prince does not sell his paintings, lithographs of his works are used to raise money for his charity; in 2016, it was reported that he had sold approximately £2 million worth from a shop at his Highgrove House residence. The National Gallery of Australia exhibited several paintings of his in 2018 to mark his 70th birthday.
The curator of the exhibition, Rosie Alderton, said that Charles "likes to sit in the actual environment and paint 'en plein air.” She added, “His passion for creating beautiful art is conveyed strongly in this exhibition."
In addition to the watercolours, there is a tapestry based on his painting "Abandoned Cottage on the Isle of Stroma” that took weaver Ben Hymers eight months to finish.
Image: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images