Coronation 2023; who is Eilieen Hogan, the first woman commissioned to paint the King’s coronation?

Cast your eyes across the scenes we are witnessing in Westminster Abbey; among the international delegates, celebrities and personal invitees of the Royal family, you might just spot what appears to be someone with a paintbrush and easel capturing the moment with the deft flicks of the brush. Your eyes are not mistaken - that happens to be renowned British painter Eileen Hogan, the first woman to ever paint a coronation in the history of the British royal lineage. 

Eileen Hogan was born in London and studied at Camberwell School of Arts, Royal Academy Schools, the British School of Archaeology at Athens, and the Royal College of Art. She is Professor at the University of the Arts London, a Trustee of the Royal Drawing School and an Ambassador for the Salvesen Mindroom Centre, a Scottish charity which is a centre of excellence in neurodiversity. She is represented by Browse & Darby, London.

Ms Hogan, who has created portraits of Charles and Camilla in the past, will aim to create 10 small paintings of the sights inside Westminster Abbey during the service. She is one of several artists with connections to the Royal Drawing School, founded by the King when he was Prince of Wales, who have been called upon to capture the celebrations on Saturday.

Ms Hogan, a trustee of the school, said: “I want to capture how in 2023 the ceremony reflects social and political meanings concerning the monarchy, faiths, the state and the congregation, all contained in the architecture of Westminster Abbey, itself embodying centuries of change.”

She follows in the footsteps of L.S Lowry, who was commissioned to paint the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth III, and Sir George Hayter who painted Queen Victoria during her coronation in 1838.