Glastonbury Festival 2022: New portrait of Michael Eavis by Sir Peter Blake unveiled
A new portrait of Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis by English artist Sir Peter Blake has been unveiled at the music festival.
The portrait, unveiled on Sir Peter’s 90th birthday, will be displayed at the National Portrait Gallery when it reopens in 2023.
The portrait shows Eavis, 86, standing in front of the festival’s iconic Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, where the festival is being hosted for the first time in three years, following cancellations due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The iconic five-day music and arts event is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Eavis grew up on Worthy Farm and joined the British Merchant Navy as a young man, but returned to the farm at the age of 19 after the death of his father.
In 1970, 16 years after inheriting the 150-acre dairy farm, Eavis hosted the first Glastonbury Festival, inspired after watching Led Zeppelin perform at the Shepton Mallet Blues Festival.
The festival is now one of the largest greenfield music and performing arts festivals in the world. Eavis was made a CBE in 2007 as a result of the positive impact he has made through his work.
Fellow music-lover Sir Peter, 90, was commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery to produce a portrait of Eavis.
The gallery also holds two other portraits created by Sir Peter in its collection – the 1991 screenprint, T for The Beatles, a reprise of his The 1962 Beatles painting, and a double portrait of husband and wife, art dealer Leslie Waddington and antique jewellery expert Clodagh Waddington.
In 2022, Sir Peter was made a CBE for his services to art. Sharing his delight at the portrait, Eavis said: “I’m so pleased to have been painted by my old friend Peter, and that my portrait is his first commission for the National Portrait Gallery.
“That’s a rare treat for a Somerset dairy farmer!”
Sir Peter added: “I visited the first Glastonbury in 1970 and have loved the festival ever since, so I was thrilled when the National Portrait Gallery commissioned me to paint Michael’s portrait.
“After receiving the commission, we took Michael for lunch at a fancy West End restaurant. He arrived resplendent in his trademark denim shorts, which stopped the restaurant in its tracks.
“I knew then, that I had to include them in the portrait. I hope my painting encapsulates Michael’s free spirit, joyful energy and love of life.”
Take at look at Glastonbury Festival through the archives: