Susanna Blunt is a Canadian portrait artist and sculptor best known for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II on Canadian coinage from 2003 until 2023. It was the fourth and final depiction of Queen Elizabeth II on Canadian coins.
Susanna Blunt’s Background
Blunt was born in 1941 in Harbin, a city in the northern Heilongjiang province of China, above a bank to a father who worked in banking. The family moved to British Columbia when Blunt was a child and, at the early age of three, decided she would become an artist. Susanna studied painting in school and during the summer programs she attended at the Banff School of Fine Arts.
Before beginning a three-year study at the Byam Shaw School, Blunt spent a year focused on drawing and sculpting at the London Hammersmith School of Art and Architecture. After this course of study was completed, Susanna Blunt was awarded a scholarship to the Royal Academy, where she continued studying art and portraiture. The year before graduating from the Royal Academy, she had her first one-woman show in Calgary, Alberta.
Susanna Blunt’s Artistic Career
Blunt worked with Yoko Ono shortly after finishing school and continued studying her craft as she built a successful international career as a muralist, designer, and portrait artist. Susanna Blunt developed a reputation for her trompe-l’oeil paintings, which realistically display a three dimensional appearance on a two dimensional surface like a canvas.
Trompe-l’oeil is most often utilized in painting, although forced perspective is considered a related illusion. One of her well-known trompe-l’oeil works is the optical illusion room in the Science World Museum in Vancouver, which Blunt designed in 1988 and is still on display there today.
Since the early 1990s, Susanna has focused on sculpting and mixed media installations. Her 1997 portrait of Prince Edward hangs in Buckingham Palace. She has painted many of Canada’s notable artists and her sculptures have been shown around the world in various exhibitions.
Susanna Blunt’s Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II
Throughout her 80 years as Queen of the Commonwealth, several portraits of Queen Elizabeth II have appeared on Canadian coinage. As the monarch aged, her effigy needed occasional updates to reflect the decades in power and service. In 2002, the Royal Canadian Mint was preparing for one of these updates. Susanna Blunt was one of the nine international artists invited to submit a portrait for the design competition. The winning work would be featured on the obverse of Canadian coins, and Blunt’s work was chosen as the winning submission. Susanna Blunt is the second Canadian artist whose design of a Royal was issued on Canadian coins.
Blunt’s design, which depicted the Queen without a crown at her request, was well received by the general Canadian public. The Queen appears elegant and contemporary, and the iconic depiction was issued for 20 years on every issue of Canadian coins from circulating coins to the Gold Maple Leaf series.
Although there were four effigies of Queen on Canadian coins, there were five different portraits of the Queen on British coins from the time of her coronation until her death.
What Other Coins has Susanna Blunt Designed?
In addition to the thousands of coins issued by the Royal Canadian Mint between 2003 and 2023, Blunt is accredited with the design for the 2017 Canadian Federation Sesquicentennial or 150th Anniversary. Most recently, there have been signature series released by the Royal Canadian Mint that feature her work and her signature.
As Blunt approaches retirement age, she intends to do anything but retire. She considers art her life force and plans to continue creating.
