Mystery surrounds Rolf's portrait of the Queen
An art mystery surrounds the disappearance of a portrait of the Queen painted by Rolf Harris.
Last month Mr Harris, a Perth-born artist and musician, was a big TV star in Britain for decades before last month being charged with 13 counts of child sex offences. He has not faced court over the charges and has not pleaded guilty to any crime.
British media is now speculating over the fate of the royal portrait, which was commissioned for Queen Elizabeth's 80th birthday.
The 2005 portrait sitting and painting process was documented in a BBC television program called The Queen by Rolf.
The Daily Mail newspaper in Britain reports that the portrait hung in the Queen’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace until 2007 when it was loaned to the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool for several years. It hung at the Australian National Portrait Gallery in Canberra in 2008.
But after such a public unveiling and exhibition it seems to have mysteriously disappeared from view.
The Walker gallery returned the painting to Buckingham Palace in August last year, just months before Mr Harris was first interviewed by Scotland Yard detectives over alleged child sex offences as part of the Operation Yewtree inquiry.
Queen Elizabeth greets Australian entertainers Rolf Harris and Kylie Minogue backstage at the Diamond Jubilee Concert outside Buckingham Palace in London, June 4 , 2012. Picture: Reuters/Dave Thompson
Now, no one is claiming ownership - or possession - of the painting. The Walker gallery in Liverpool told The Daily Mail they returned the portrait to Buckingham Palace but the Palace says that technically the Queen does not own the picture, even though she accepted it in person.
The Royal Collection claimed to have sent the portrait to the BBC because it was never gifted to the Queen and was only ever on loan.
But in keeping with the painting's hot potato reputation, the BBC says the artwork is not with the corporation and they don't know where it is now.
A spokesman for Mr Harris did not respond to questions about the whereabouts of the Queen's portrait.
Mr Harris, 83, faces six counts of indecently assaulting a 15-year-old girl in 1980 and 1981, and three charges of indecent assault on a girl aged 14 in 1986. He is also charged with four counts of making indecent images of a child in the first half of 2012.
He reportedly turned to art after his arrest, painting every day to cope with the devastation of his arrest, his wife Alwen Hughes told media.
