A portrait of Glastonbury competition founder Michael Eavis by English pop artist Sir Peter Blake has been unveiled on the music competition.
The portrait, unveiled on Blake’s ninetieth birthday, was commissioned by the Nationwide Portrait Gallery (NPG) in London in 2019, and will probably be displayed on the venue when it reopens in 2023 after constructing works are accomplished.
The portrait exhibits Eavis, 86, standing in entrance of the well-known Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, the place the competition is being hosted for the primary time in three years following cancellations as a result of Covid-19 pandemic.
The five-day music and humanities occasion, one of many largest of its form globally, is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this 12 months.
Eavis, who organises the competition alongside his daughter Emily Eavis, stated: “I’m so happy to have been painted by my previous pal Peter … a uncommon deal with for a Somerset dairy farmer!”
Eavis grew up on Worthy Farm and joined the British service provider navy as a younger man. He returned to the farm on the age of 19 following the demise of his father. In 1970, 16 years after inheriting the 150-acre dairy farm, he hosted the primary Glastonbury competition, which has been held on the identical web site ever since.
Each Eavis and Blake have been awarded CBEs – Eavis in 2007 and Blake in 2022 – in recognition of their contribution to the humanities.
Blake has shut ties to the music world. He's greatest identified for co-creating the sleeve design for the Beatles’ album Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Membership Band. His different best-known works embrace covers for 2 of the Who’s albums, the quilt of the Band Assist single Do They Know It’s Christmas? and the Dwell Assist live performance poster.
In 1991, he produced a screenprint for the NPG titled T for the Beatles – a reprise of his 1962 Beatles portray – and the gallery additionally shows his double portrait of the artwork supplier Leslie Waddington and his spouse, the vintage jewelry professional Clodagh Waddington.
Blake stated: “I visited the primary Glastonbury in 1970 and have beloved the competition ever since. After receiving the fee, we took Michael for lunch at a elaborate West Finish restaurant. He arrived resplendent in his trademark denim shorts, which stopped the restaurant in its tracks.
“I knew then that I needed to embrace them within the portrait. I hope my portray encapsulates Michael’s free spirit, joyful vitality and love of life.”
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