The Art of Sir Winston Churchill

The exhibition offers a unique opportunity to view paintings rarely seen in

North America by the British statesman Winston Churchill (1874–1965),

one of the most renowned wartime leaders of the twentieth century.

Bringing together 10 paintings from the esteemed collection of the family of

the late Julian Sandys, grandson of Winston Churchill, and from the

collection at the National Churchill Museum, this exhibition surveys both Churchill’s

landscapes and seascapes, the artist-statesman’s favorite subjects. Beginning with his

work from the 1920s, the paintings on view represent four of the five decades in which

Churchill pursued what was for him the greatest of hobbies.

The exhibition is a collaboration between the National Churchill Museum at Westminster

College in Fulton, Missouri, and the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. It also

includes several objects from the permanent

collection of the National Churchill Museum

including a cigar humidor given to Churchill by the

people and government of Cuba (1946), a top hat

signed by Churchill, President Roosevelt and

Joseph Stalin (1945), a rare dispatch box from

Churchill’s time as Chancellor of the Duchy of

Lancaster (1915) and a bronze cast of Winston

Churchill’s hand by Oscar Nemon [Ill. 1]. Also on

view are never-before exhibited items related

Churchill’s visit to Westminster College, where he

delivered his most significant post-war speech, the

“Sinews of Peace,” commonly known as the “Iron

Curtain Speech on March 5, 1946.

Ill. 1 Oscar Nemon (Croatian, 1887–1979) Cast of Winston Churchill’s Hand Bronze 10 in h, 5 ½ in w National Churchill Museum at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri

The Churchill Image

History has painted a portrait of Winston Churchill as an ambitious, confident, bold, and

highly creative man. Volumes have been written about Churchill, the statesman who led

the British during World War II and inspired a nation during its “finest hour.” Churchill is

remembered today—five decades after his death—as a leader whose eccentricities and

audacity contributed to his stubborn defiance in the face of adversity. He was also a

passionate writer and orator. He wrote over five thousand speeches, forty-two books,

and countless articles ranging from African travel journals to essays about oil painting,

and in 1953 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for “his mastery of historical

and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human

values.” There remains, however, another picture to be painted of Sir Winston Churchill:

the portrait of Churchill as an artist.

Ill. 2 Winston Churchill painting at Chateua St-Georges-Motel near Dreux, France. 1935 National Churchill Museum at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri Gift of Richard and Barbara Mahoney

Ill. 2 Winston Churchill painting in France. 1935 National Churchill Museum at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri Gift of Richard and Barbara Mahoney

Amateur amid Professionals

A self-proclaimed pastime painter, Winston Churchill did not begin painting until the age

of forty. Although he received no formal training as an artist, he pursued his hobby with

characteristic passion, and it became a lifelong interest. A 1921 essay, which later

became the basis for his book Painting as a Pastime, serves as the painter’s personal

credo on the creative process and recounts the origins of his interest in painting. The

essay describes how in 1915, following a disastrous campaign at the Battle of Gallipoli

during World War I, Churchill resigned from his position as First Lord of the Admiralty. “I

had great anxiety and no means of relieving it,” he wrote. With “long hours of unwonted

leisure in which to contemplate the frightful unfolding of the war,” he turned to painting

as a means to clear his mind and relieve his stress—an antidote that served him

throughout the remainder of his turbulent career.

Churchill also studied the subject voraciously. He visited museums and galleries and

copied the work of American and European painters, such as Charles François

Daubigny, John Singer Sargent, and Paul Cézanne, among others. He was a friend of

such artists as Sir John Lavery (Irish, 1856–

1941) and Paul Maze (French, 1887–1979);

Maze’s Winston Churchill at His Easel Painting the Mill at Dreux (1932) [Ill. 3] is

included in the exhibition. In 1948 Churchill

was appointed Honorary Academician

Extraordinary by the Royal Academy in

London, an honor that elevated Churchill’s

status as a painter.

Ill. 3 Paul Maze (French, 1887–1979) Winston Churchill at His Easel Painting the Mill at Dreux, 1932 Oil on canvas 18 x 12.5 in. National Churchill Museum at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri Gift of Mrs. Norman Laski

Passion for Light and Landscape

Of Churchill’s nearly 575 total paintings, 350 are landscapes or seascapes. He often

planned his holidays—to the south of France or Marrakech, Morocco—in order to satisfy

his interest in colorful scenery, which he painted en plein air. His attention to color, and

the reflection of light and color on water, comprises his most frequent painterly pursuit.

He also captured many scenes of the Britain, including Firth of Forth (c. 1925) [Ill. 2] and

Lake Near Breccles (1930s) [Ill.3], which are included in the exhibition. “Happy are the

painters, for they shall not be lonely,” he wrote in Painting as a Pastime. “Light and

colour, peace and hope, will keep them company to the end, or almost the end of the

day.” With the same sentiment that he hoped “the life of the world may move forward

into broad, sunlit uplands” (“Finest Hour” speech, June 18, 1940), he applied color to

canvas to create paintings that, like his rhetoric, reflect his optimism and determination

in the face of adversity.

Ill 2 Sir Winston Churchill (British, 1874–1965) Firth of Forth, c. 1925 oil on canvas, 25 x 30 in. National Churchill Museum at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri Copyright Churchill Heritage, Ltd.

Ill 3 Sir Winston Churchill (British, 1874–1965) Lake Near Breccles, 1930s oil on canvas, 21.5 x 29 in. Collection of the family of the late Julian Sandys Copyright Churchill Heritage, Ltd.

Sir Winston Churchill Exhibition The Queen Mary, Long Beach, California Checklist of Objects and Paintings to Be Loaned

Checklist 2-15-2016

Sir Winston Churchill (British, 1874-1965) Firth of Forth, ca. 1925 oil on canvas, 25 x 30 in. National Churchill Museum at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri © Churchill Heritage, Ltd. Sir Winston Churchill (British, 1874-1965) Boats at Cannes Harbor, 1937 oil on canvas, 24 x 30 in. National Churchill Museum at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri © Churchill Heritage, Ltd. Sir Winston Churchill (British, 1874-1965) Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, 1951 oil on canvas 24 x 20 in. Collection of the family of the late Julian Sandys Churchill Heritage, Ltd Sir Winston Churchill (British, 1874-1965) Lake Near Breccles, 1930s oil on canvas 21.5 x 29 in. Collection of the family of the late Julian Sandys © Churchill Heritage, Ltd Sir Winston Churchill (British, 1874-1965) On the Var, ca. 1935 oil on canvas 20 x 25 in. Collection of the family of the late Julian Sandys © Churchill Heritage, Ltd

Sir Winston Churchill Exhibition The Queen Mary, Long Beach, California Checklist of Objects and Paintings to Be Loaned

Checklist 2-15-2016

Winston Churchill (British, 1874-1965) Distant View of Èze, 1930s oil on canvas 20 x 30 in. Collection of the family of the late Julian Sandys © Churchill Heritage, Ltd Winston Churchill (British, 1874-1965) The Mill at St-Georges-Motel, ca. 1932 oil on board 24 x 32 in. Collection of the family of the late Julian Sandys © Churchill Heritage, Ltd Winston Churchill (British, 1874-1965) Coast Scene Near Marseilles, 1930s oil on canvas 25 x 30 in. Collection of the family of the late Julian Sandys © Churchill Heritage, Ltd Winston Churchill (British, 1874-1965) Marrakech, 1947 oil on canvas 22 x 27 in. Collection of the family of the late Julian Sandys © Churchill Heritage, Ltd Winston Churchill (British, 1874-1965) Avenue at Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, with Diana Churchill, ca. 1922 oil on canvas 20 x 24 in. Collection of the family of the late Julian Sandys © Churchill Heritage, Ltd

Sir Winston Churchill Exhibition The Queen Mary, Long Beach, California Checklist of Objects and Paintings to Be Loaned

Checklist 2-15-2016

Paul Maze (French, 1887–1979) Winston Churchill at His Easel Painting the Mill at Dreux, 1932 Oil on canvas 18 x 12.5 in. National Churchill Museum at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri Gift of Mrs. Norman Laski Winston Churchill’s Travel Easel Private Collection Dispatch Box of The Hon. Winston S. Churchill M.P., Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, 1915 National Churchill Museum at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri Top Hat with Signatures of Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin National Churchill Museum at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri Partially Smoked Cigars, 1956 National Churchill Museum at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri Gift of Barbara and Richard Manhoney

Sir Winston Churchill Exhibition The Queen Mary, Long Beach, California Checklist of Objects and Paintings to Be Loaned

Checklist 2-15-2016

Cigar Humidor Presented to Winston Churchill by the People and Government of Cuba, 1946 24 in wide, 18 in deep, 26 in tall (when open) National Churchill Museum at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri William Greenshields Collection Clothing Brush with W.S.C. Monogram 11 ½ in x 2 in. National Churchill Museum at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri William Greenshields Collection Leather Travel Clock with W.S.C. Monogram 5 in w, 4 in t, 3 in deep (when open) National Churchill Museum at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri William Greenshields Collection

Sir Winston Churchill Exhibition The Queen Mary, Long Beach, California Checklist of Objects and Paintings to Be Loaned

Checklist 2-15-2016

Oscar Nemon (Croatian, 1906–1985) Cast of Winston Churchill’s Hand Bronze 10 in h, 5 ½ in w, 2 1/8 in deep National Churchill Museum at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri

Sir Jacob Epstein (British, 1880–1959) Bust of Winston Churchill, 1946 Bronze 19 in h x 11 w x 14 in deep (includes base) National Churchill Museum at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri

Pennant from Truman Churchill Day, March 5, 1946 Felt 29 in x 11 in National Churchill Museum at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri

Reserved Seat Ticket for “Iron Curtain” Speech, March 5, 1946 Paper 3 in x 5 in National Churchill Museum at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri

Sir Winston Churchill Exhibition The Queen Mary, Long Beach, California Checklist of Objects and Paintings to Be Loaned

Checklist 2-15-2016

British Flag from Platform during Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” Speech, March 5, 1946 National Churchill Museum at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri Fountain Pen Used by President John F. Kennedy to Sig Act Making Winston Churchill and Honorary United States Citizen, April 9, 1963 National Churchill Museum at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri