Queen Anne (1665–1714)

This portrait of Queen Anne, who reigned from 1702 to 1714, depicts the last Stuart monarch. Anne's reign saw the Act of Union that created Great Britain and the military triumphs of the Duke of Marlborough, though her personal life was marked by the tragedy of losing all seventeen of her children. Kneller dominated British portraiture for nearly half a century as Principal Painter successively to Charles II, James II, William III, and Queen Anne, producing vast output through a studio system...

The royal portrait presents Anne with the formal regalia and composed dignity expected of a reigning monarch, Kneller's studio producing this work within the established conventions for royal image-making.