A Toronto doctor-artist painted the King in full state dress for Government House in Halifax. London can see it first, from 19 October.
A new portrait of King Charles III goes on free display in St James’s on 19 October 2026. It is the first official portrait to show him in formal state dress, and it will hang at the Stern Pissarro Gallery until 31 October.
The oil painting is the work of Dr Suan-Seh Foo, a doctor and artist based in Toronto. Nova Scotia’s Lieutenant Governor ordered it as the official portrait for that office, and it will eventually hang permanently at Government House in Halifax. Before it crosses the Atlantic, London gets a short look.
The King wears the uniform of the Royal Regiment of Canada, where he is Colonel-in-Chief. He holds the orb and sceptre and is dressed in a purple robe, the one a monarch wears after being crowned. The purple separates it from the red Robe of State worn on arrival at a coronation.
Canadian references fill the canvas. Through a window sits the Halifax Town Clock, which Prince Edward ordered in 1803 while he was military commander of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. A rudder bears the Royal Canadian Navy’s insignia, and a bouquet of Mayflowers, Nova Scotia’s official flower, completes the picture.
The gallery is on St James’s Street and charges nothing for entry. It opens Monday to Friday from 10am to 6pm. Green Park Tube station is a few minutes’ walk away. Once the London run ends on 31 October, the painting heads to Halifax.
At the Stern Pissarro Gallery on St James's Street, between 19 and 31 October 2026.
No, entry is free. The gallery opens Monday to Friday from 10am to 6pm.
Dr Suan-Seh Foo, a doctor and artist based in Toronto. Nova Scotia's Lieutenant Governor ordered it as the office's official portrait of the King.
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