Gloriana by Lesley Thiel

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Lesley Thiel

Gloriana

2020

50.8 x 50.8 x [*] cm | 20 x 20 in

Oil on panel

  • Chairman's Choice Awards ($300 Cash Award)

“I have always been a little obsessed with Queen Elizabeth I of England, known as ‘Gloriana’, since learning about her at school. She was a strong and intelligent woman who managed to become one of Britain's greatest monarchs at a time when women were seen as the property of men. My little Gloriana is the queen of the natural world, with chipmunks for advisors. In her hand is the orb, which is a pomegranate in this case. The pomegranate of Persephone symbolizes life and death; the turn of the seasons; the force of nature. The nuthatch offers Gloriana a coin, and tells her that riches will be hers if she heeds the advice of nature and works with her fellow travelers on earth.” – Lesley Thiel