‘She sat for him 12 times’: The Nigerian artist who made a bronze sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II looks back at his life ‘It was quite remarkable, she sat for him 12 times’, Mr Iyame said.
‘He had the full picture. He was an expert in his own time’, his son, Mr Iyame Junior, said.
‘Her Majesty was very interested in art, he studied art, and he was doing an excellent job.
‘She was very happy and it was very nice for him.’
Mr Iyame was in London to look at his latest ‘Queen of the South’ statue, which was the first in his new series entitled ‘The British’.
The £400,000 statue, which stands above the entrance to the south lawn of Buckingham Palace, is almost complete.
Mr Iyame said he was ‘extremely proud’ of his statue, adding: ‘It’s very touching and very special for her.’
His mother, who never remarried, was one of eight wives to Prince Henry.
She once said: ‘I am sure there are many times that she wanted to see him but he was in the army and she didn’t know when he would return.’
She met Prince Edward at the University of Leeds, where she was to be awarded her degree in architecture, and also at University College London where she studied French and German.
An art aficionado, she always had the original of a painting by Rembrandt and Titian, as well as a collection of drawings by Velazquez and Goya.
She also kept art books, and had the portraits that had been commissioned for her children.
Her children took her to see many art galleries when she visited London, she told the Daily Mail.
‘I remember very clearly that I sat and took photos of some of these and her face lit up when she saw them.
‘She was very fond of art, and she collected it all. I don’t think she ever got any money.
‘Everybody envied her because she was an heiress,’ her son
