Timothy Whidborne

Timothy Charles Plunket Whidborne (1927–2021)^[1] was a British artist notable for his 1969 portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on horseback as Colonel-in-Chief of the Irish Guards, a regiment in which Whidborne had once been a member.^[2]

Born in High Wycombe, Whidborne was educated at Stowe School, where he was a contemporary of George Melly. He served as a lieutenant in the Irish Guards and saw action in Mandatory Palestine.^[3] In 1949, he became a pupil of Pietro Annigoni.^[4] Whidborne exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1954,^[5] and in 1966, The Connoisseur recognized him as a leading mural decorator in England.

In 1983, he was among the artists selected to design alternative stamps for the British definitive series,^[6] but his design was not adopted, and the Machin series remained in use for the Queen's lifetime.

Selected publications

• Pietro Annigoni: Il Periodo Inglese, 1949-1971. Leonardo-De Luca, Rome, 1991. Edited by Luciano Pelizzari, contribution by Timothy Whidborne. ISBN 8878133973
• Woolly the Mammoth. Pheasantry Studios, London, 1993. ISBN 0952292408
• Aspects of Deal. Pheasantry Studios, London, 2002. ISBN 0952292416
• Aspects of Ireland. Pheasantry Studios, London, 2003. ISBN 0952292424
• Aspects Abroad. Pheasantry Studios, London, 2005. ISBN 0952292440 (new edition)
• Aspects Diverse. Pheasantry Studios, London, 2008. ISBN 0952292459
• A Cabinet of Curiosities. Pheasantry Studios, London, 2008. ISBN 0952292467
• Aspects of Love and Passion. Pheasantry Studios, London, 2008. ISBN 0952292475
• Aspects of Psychology. Pheasantry Studios, London, 2010. ISBN 0952292483
• Aspects of Art and Ancestry. Grosvenor House, Tolworth, 2019. ISBN 9781786234735
• Images: Paintings and Drawings by Timothy Charles Plunket Whidborne. Grosvenor House, Tolworth, 2020. ISBN 9781839750274