PIONEERING portraits of the late Queen – commissioned by Jersey Heritage to mark the Island’s 800-year allegiance to the Crown – are the subject of a legal dispute between Jersey Heritage and light artist Chris Levine.
Jersey Heritage is suing the creator of the holographic portraits, claiming that he breached a 2015 agreement regulating use of the images, and generated millions of pounds from selling unlicensed copies. The portraits were created from sittings with the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2003 and 2004 by Mr Levine and Rob Munday, a pioneer in holography and lenticular imaging.
The public first glimpsed Equanimity, a holographic portrait of the Queen commissioned as part of the 2004 official celebrations, during a visit King Charles – then Prince of Wales – made to Jersey in 2004. A second, less formal, image called Lightness of Being dates from four years later and forms part of the collection of images now the subject of a legal case in England.
Mr Levine – whose other commissions have included the laser show for Kate Moss’s 40th birthday party, work with The Eden Project, and five works in the National Portrait Gallery – has filed a counterclaim, arguing that only Equanimity was paid for by Jersey Heritage. He also argues that he is entitled to 80% of the entrance money to Mont Orgueil Castle, where the portraits are on display.
In March, Jersey Heritage Trust filed its claim that Mr Levine has made “significant profits in the multiple millions from the exploitation of the works”.
The documents show that Jersey Heritage believe he has sold or “otherwise exploited” 223 copies of Lightness of Being since November 2017, generating millions in the process.
And they claim, in the same period, that the artist has sold at least 66 copies of Equanimity “without seeking, or receiving, the prior written permission”, yielding profits of at least £585,000.
Their case refers to the terms of a settlement reached in 2015, in which it is said that Mr Levine agreed to pay a royalty of 20% on all net income derived from the two portraits.
Claiming that they generated more than £3.7 million – and more than £1.2m in 2022 alone – Jersey Heritage argued that Mr Levine owed at least £650,000 as of November 2022.
Jersey Heritage said £100,000 of a settlement sum was also still outstanding.
