In honor of King Charles III‘s upcoming coronation, a digital portrait comprised of more than 11,000 drawings, made by people throughout Britain, is on view on a four-story interactive digital screen at the broadcasting company Outernet in central London. The effort benefits BBC Children in Need.
Spearheaded by the artist Sam Barnett, The Royally Big Portrait, as the project is known, was created using thousands of crowd-sourced line-drawn profiles of the king. Though online submissions wrapped on April 28, those wishing to contribute can still upload images, which will be part of the larger digital image, via Outernet through May 8.
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Individual contributions can be viewed within the portrait at Outernet using an iPad. The company is planning to announce the final number of submissions on May 9.
A canvas iteration and prints of the portrait are slated to be auctioned and sold, respectively, by Christie’s during an event at Outernet on May 4 to support the Children in Need charity for kids living in poverty or experiencing social injustices.
Additionally, Christie’s is holding its annual exhibition of works by students from the Drawing Year, which is an intensive program for 10- to 18-year-olds that the king established as part of the Royal Drawing School in 2000. The school offers in-person and online classes to young artists focused primarily on observational drawing.
For the coronation, Christie’s organized an additional show of works this year by the Drawing Year alumni, which will be on view from May 2 to 25. The show features commissioned works by the Royal Drawing School, along with an archive of drawings—one made by each student after successfully graduating.
Of the commissioned works, five will be available for purchase as limited edition prints. A portion of the funds will go towards the Drawing Year Scholarship Fund.
Kevis House Gallery is also selling signed limited edition lithographs of King Charles III’s watercolors, accompanied by an exhibition showcasing more than a dozen of his paintings, on view from May 2 to 21. Sales will benefit his The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund.