Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Hear Dr Xavier Bray discuss this piece by Grayson Perry, which reimagines François Boucher’s famous portrait of Madame de Pompadour as an almost spectral figure wrapped in wool fibres. Created by Perry's alter ego Shirley Smith, Hospital Queen captures Pompadour with a rich mix of materials, from a chess piece to a tiny bronze bird as her smile.
Taking inspiration from the decorative embroideries made by aristocratic women in the 18th century Hospital Queen beautifully brings together the old and the new.
🎟️ See it on display during the final weeks of ‘Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur’
Follow the link below for tickets: wallacecollection.digitickets.co.uk/event-tickets/62500?catID=13928&
Grayson Perry, Hospital Queen, 2024 © Grayson Perry. Courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro
Hear Dr Xavier Bray discuss this piece by Grayson Perry, which reimagines François Boucher’s famous portrait of Madame de Pompadour as an almost spectral figure wrapped in wool fibres. Created by Perry's alter ego Shirley Smith, Hospital Queen captures Pompadour with a rich mix of materials, from a chess piece to a tiny bronze bird as her smile.
Taking inspiration from the decorative embroideries made by aristocratic women in the 18th century Hospital Queen beautifully brings together the old and the new.
🎟️ See it on display during the final weeks of ‘Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur’
Follow the link below for tickets: wallacecollection.digitickets.co.uk/event-tickets/62500?catID=13928&
Grayson Perry, Hospital Queen, 2024 © Grayson Perry. Courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro
