‘She sat for him 12 times’: The Nigerian artist who made a bronze sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II is being called ‘world’s best’ and ‘the best sculptor alive’ as he completes his latest sculpture of Donald Trump.
Sam H.M.B. Njue, who creates sculptures of celebrities, has created a statue of the British monarch for her 60th birthday in October, in what is believed to be the world’s most expensive statue.
The statue has not yet been unveiled and there is no known date for its completion.
The portrait of Sir Winston Churchill, unveiled in 2005 at the world famous Tate Gallery, is one of Britain’s most famous art works. It is often pictured on tourists’ trip-holstered backpacks. A plaque bearing Churchill’s face was unveiled in the room where he and his wife, Clementine, once lived when the house was demolished to make way for the gallery in 1965.
‘It is about time you decided to finish it,’ Njue told The Independent. ‘I love him, I just wish he could see me.’
Trump, Sir Winston Churchill, and Queen Elizabeth II are pictured together at the opening of the new Royal Academy in London last October. They pose in front of two oil paintings of them by the art-critic critic John Ruskin, who was famously hostile to the young Queen. Ruskin once accused her of being “a shallow, conceited, vain thing, who thinks she is God-given”.
The sculptor started work on the statue in early July, having spent weeks working on various designs under the working title of ‘Ladybird’.
He said: “Her Majesty, our queen, is one of my favourite people.”
‘The work she’s done for me is extraordinary and I can only hope that she will appreciate it,’ he said.
‘She sits for me 12 times because this is my crown and she is the queen of our country. I have a lot of respect for her. I have met people like her who are special. She is unique. I just hope she will be inspired.’
Njue has produced three works of art inspired by the monarch to date: the portrait of Sir Winston Churchill, the bust of Queen Elizabeth II and the sculpture of the Queen in the garden of Buckingham Palace.
Njue has said he has produced three works inspired by Elizabeth