CAN’T PLEASE ALL Abronze sculpture by artist Anto Brennan, depicting Queen Elizabeth II with husband Prince Philip and her corgis, has earned critics and admirers alike. —AFP
ANTRIM, United Kingdom—A new statue of the late Queen Elizabeth II has met mixed reviews, with one critic saying that Britain’s longest-reigning monarch now looks more like “an old lady buying potatoes at the market.”
An online commentator even likened it to Robin Williams’ titular character, the elderly female housekeeper, in the 1993 Hollywood comedy-drama “Mrs. Doubtfire.”
The statue of the queen, who died in September 2022 at 96, was unveiled last week in Antrim Castle Gardens park in Northern Ireland, and also features her husband Prince Philip and two of her beloved corgi dogs.
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council said at the unveiling that the work captures “Her Majesty in a dignified pose, reflecting her grace, steadfastness and lifelong dedication to public service.”
The local authority posted images of artist Anto Brennan’s work on its social media sites but switched off the comments section to stop further adverse comments.
READ: Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, dies aged 96
‘Corgis are better’
But while the council conceded that art can prompt “diverse opinions,” it said it was “delighted” with the “generally positive” response.
Walking his dog at the gardens on Wednesday, Ivor Ritchie, 67, called the sculpture “terrible.” “It looks no more like her than the man-in-the-moon,” he said.
“I just don’t think it looks like her face,” added another passer-by, Eddie Smyth, a 52-year-old laborer also from Antrim, a half-hour drive northwest of Belfast.
English tourist Lorraine Barker, 58, agreed. “In fact the corgis are better than the queen I’d say,” she told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
But the sculpture, one of the first of the queen in the United Kingdom since her death, is also attracting curious visitors to the 400-year-old gardens.
“We came over to see it as we’d heard people talking about it,” said Noel Wilson, 62, who drove from the nearby town of Ballymena with his wife Dorothy, 61, to have a look.
Hungarian tourist Gabor Laszlo, 50, struggled to see the queen’s likeness. It was he who said the statue made her look an old lady buying potatoes.
“Prince Philip is OK,” Laszlo said.
Yet the statue—depicting the queen in a country jacket and tweed skirt, wearing a headscarf and carrying her trademark handbag—also has its fans.
“It’s a really good replica of how warmly and fondly she is remembered by the British public, I think it’s an excellent job,” said English visitor Stephen Barker.
For 90-year-old Canadian tourist Roy Hill, the work is “a wonderful depiction, very impressive.”
“It brings back a lot of memories. I am old enough to remember Queen Elizabeth as a young person, at the coronation,” he said.