Portraits from legendary artists including Cecil Beaton, Andy Warhol, Lord Snowdon and Lucian Freud show the changing image and public perception of the Queen over the years, with a mixture of formal and candid shots. 

A highlight is the majestic 1954-55 painting of Her Majesty by Annigoni, which is rarely displayed and is reunited with another of his portraits from 1969. These paintings immediately caught my eye and reminded me of the powerful image the Queen conveys.

I especially enjoyed the reminder of the Queen’s early years and the powerful image she displayed even then.

• The Queen: Art and Image is at the National Portrait Gallery until 21 October.

If you’re into contemporary art, you’ll definitely want to see Tate Modern‘s new exhibition, Pop Life: Art in a Material World.

The show features work by many groundbreaking artists, including Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Keith Haring and Jeff Koons.

Across 17 rooms, Pop Life charts the way that artists have embraced commerce and celebrity in an increasingly multi-media world.

The show starts with a look at the work of Andy Warhol, who once proclaimed, “Good business is the best art.”

Warhol sold his services as a portrait artist for a fixed fee, and you can see his paintings of celebrities such as Mick Jagger, David Hockney and Grace Jones.

Other items on show include copies of Warhol’s Interview magazine, advertising images, videos of the artist and friends in the Factory studio, and wallpaper covered with pictures of Warhol’s face.

In the following rooms, you’ll see the work of a new generation of artists, who followed in Warhol’s footsteps and became part of mass media culture.

One highlight is a recreation of Keith Haring’s Pop Shop, which originally opened in New York in 1986.

The shop has been faithfully reconstructed at Tate Modern, complete with black and white patterned walls and 80s house music. You can even buy Haring’s sew-on patches, badges and t-shirts from a hatch in the wall, manned by staff from the Tate shop.

Other must-see exhibits include:

• Damien Hirst’s glittering Memories of / Moments with You, made from gold and diamonds
• A metalic bronze room containing the work of Pruitt Early (Rob Pruitt and Jack Early), whose work explores popular conceptions of race and adolescence
• Images of artist and porn star Cosey Fanni Tutti, whose exhibition at the ICA was taken down after people complained about the adult content
• A gallery dedicated to the Young British Artists, including items from Tracey Emin and Sarah Lucus’s shop in Bethnal Green, East London

Allow a few hours to walk around the entire exhibition, and prepare to be starstruck!

Pop Life: Art in a Material World opens at Tate Modern on 1 October.

Catch Andy Warhol‘s amazing Michael Jackson portrait as it comes to London for just three days next week.

The iconic MJ picture will go on display at the British Music Experience from Thursday 6 August and will be its only European showing before it returns to New York to be sold.

The portrait was commissioned to celebrate record sales of the King of Pop’s Thriller album in 1984. If you’d like to own it, the opening bid starts at just $800,000!

Don’t miss your chance to see this unique piece of music history.