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Background: Mr. Pistro Annigoni's portrait of Princess Margaret now hangs in Agnew's Gallery, in Old Bond Street London. It will be there for about a fortnight, and on view to the general public.

The portrait is already a controversial one. Even though the evidence has not till now been available on which a balanced critical judgement could be passed, disappointment has been widely expressed not only at its general merits as a portrayal of royalty and a characteristic presentation of an extremely familiar public figure, but also on its purely technical accomplishment.

Though the justice of many of the strictures cannot be altogether denied, it would be less than fair not to say that the picture catches the eye and engages the attention.

The head itself remains the most effective passage in the picture, with something of Annigoni's first royal portrait, and something, too, of the ingredients for popular success.