Sam Jackson English, b. 1977

Jackson paints queens, princesses and other women of historical note, from Cleopatra and Boudicca to Anne Boleyn, Catherine de’ Medici, Marie Antoinette and Queen Victoria. Drawn from historical sources, folk tales and the artist’s imagination, these are imagined likenesses of figures who can no longer be painted from life. His consistently composed head-and-shoulders portraits recall the formal conventions of Godfrey Kneller’s ‘Kit Kat Club’ paintings, presenting a romantic counterpoint to their fraternity of influential men.

His handling is loose, cursive and boldly expressive. Paint is flicked and stroked across the canvas in lively, gestural marks that delineate the features of each face with the energy and immediacy of illustration. Letters and phrases scattered across the picture plane emphasise the graphic nature of the image, providing an ambiguous commentary on these icon-like faces. Rather than penetrating the psychology of his subjects, Jackson explores the mysterious regality, feminine guile and archetypes embedded in the popular stories surrounding these women.