Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria was a very prolific artist and the Royal Collection holds over 4,000 of her drawings, watercolours, etchings and lithographs. Ranging from 1828 to 1892 (when her sight began to deteriorate), these span 64 years of her long life.

Queen Victoria received her first drawing lesson at the age of eight, from the artist Richard Westall. Drawing soon became something she did for her own enjoyment and subsequently became part of her everyday life. She went on to be tutored by leading artists of the day including Edward Lear.

Queen Victoria drew and painted a wide range of subjects including studies of her growing family and many views of landscapes both home and abroad. As well as providing an insight into her life and interests, Queen Victoria's 56 sketchbooks in the Royal Collection are a remarkable record of the places she visited, the people she met and the theatrical performances she had seen.

Printmaking

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert learned to etch together as newlyweds, and were taught by professional artists including George Hayter and Edwin Landseer. The royal couple took pleasure in working together, etching a total of 93 plates (both separately and together) during the 1840s. In 1846 the royal couple also tried their hands at lithography, under the supervision of Edwin Dalton, son-in-law of the miniaturist William Ross.

These etchings and lithographs were privately printed and intended for personal enjoyment, occasionally being presented as gifts to family and friends. Despite this dissemination there are over 800 prints by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in the Royal Collection.