Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill IV(1874-1965) - 12th Duke of Marlborough, Peer of England, Lord of the Admiralty, Prime Minister of Great Britain, military officer with the rank of colonel, engaged in journalism, wrote literary works. And at the age of forty, for the first time, picking up brushes and paints, he became an artist-painter, leaving behind a huge creative legacy.
While still a commander of a battalion of Scottish Rifles in 1915, Churchill painted four paintings from nature, almost on the front line. This unshakable calm made an incredible impression on his subordinate soldiers and officers. Churchill made sketches with a calm expression, not reacting to enemy shelling.
His passion for painting brought Winston out of a deep bout of depression and after his resignation from the post of First Lord of the Admiralty. He developed a pattern for himself that, completely devoting himself to painting, he completely forgets about everything - even the troubles of “big politics”. He once confessed to his cousin: "Sometimes I'm ready to give up almost everything to paint".
Winston's new hobby was much more than just a hobby. His trips to the open air were a whole procession: in front were gardeners with an easel, a canvas on a stretcher, a palette of brushes and paints, behind them was Churchill in a frock coat, a wide-brimmed hat and a cigar in his mouth. Having found a place from which the landscape he was interested in could be viewed from the desired angle, he gave the order to set up an easel and a sun umbrella. Then he dismissed the workers and began painting.
All the attributes of an artist-painter were always with him, in all his endless trips around different countries. In all the houses where the Churchill couple lived, art studios were set up. Winston drew everywhere and could always devote a couple of hours to his favorite hobby.
“I don’t know of any other activity that, without exhausting the body at all, absorbs the mind so completely. No matter what worries the day brings, no matter what threats the future conceals, as soon as the picture begins to emerge, all worries recede, there is no longer room for them in the head. They fade into the shadows and disappear into the darkness."
If Churchill was one hundred percent confident in himself in political affairs and literary work, then in painting he assessed his talent very modestly. Being open to criticism, he was suspicious of praise, since he understood that he was praised not only for his paintings.
He often said: “My paintings are too bad to sell and too expensive to give to anyone other than close friends.”
Nevertheless, in 1921, Churchill still sent several of his paintings to the International Exhibition in Paris, putting on them the signature of the artist he invented, Charles Morin. To his surprise, the jury approved six paintings and put them up for auction. And in 1925, Churchill the painter had even greater success: at the exhibition artwork In a London gallery, his canvas was awarded first place among the works of non-professional artists. The authors were presented to the jury anonymously.
The professional jury praised Winston’s work quite highly, stating: “Whoever their author is, he is clearly not a Sunday artist”. And the politician wrote his creations only on weekends and in very short hours and minutes, free from government affairs.
During World War II, Churchill did not paint. And he returned to his favorite work after the war with even greater zeal.
Winston was Prime Minister of Britain for 2 electoral terms: from 1940-1945 and from 1951-1955. And when the Conservatives, led by Churchill, were defeated in the elections in 1945, painting again brought him out of his depressed state of mind. He, like 30 years ago, plunged headlong into a creative state.
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He once confessed to his friend: “It’s somehow awkward for me to exhibit my paintings publicly, because they are like children to me: even if they behave badly, they still remain loved.”
And yet the exhibition took place. In Kansas City (Missouri) in 1958, the first personal exhibition of thirty-five works by Winston Churchill was organized, which was a stunning success. Then the paintings went on a tour of US cities, where they were highly appreciated. More than half a million viewers saw the work of the retired British prime minister.
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And Field Marshal Alexander, analyzing Churchill’s painting, said: “He loves paint very much and takes too much of it, which is why his paintings are so harsh. He can't resist using the whole palette of colors. In painting, as in everything else, from big politics to food, Churchill was a maximalist." !}
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21.08.2011 V 10:57
Paintings of Winston Churchill (Churchill paintings)
Over the past 10 years, Churchill's works have almost doubled in price, the publication notes. The previous record was set in December 2006, when his View of Tinherir, painted in 1951 during a visit to Morocco, sold for £612,800.
Painting was a hobby for Sir Winston Churchill, The Telegraph recalls, but he continued to paint all his life.
Churchill draws
The summer of 1915 was the first difficult period in Winston Churchill's political career. At the very beginning of the First World War, the grandiose plan he developed to capture the Dardanelles failed. The ambitious politician had to leave the new cabinet of ministers. To restore his peace of mind, Winston and his wife Clementine retired to a small Tudor country house, Howe Farm, which they had rented for the summer.
Churchill's state of mind seriously frightened Clementine, who was afraid that in a moment of despair, succumbing to depression, her husband would take extreme measures and decide to commit suicide. Guni suggested a solution. She was fond of watercolors and one day in June, she defiantly went out onto the lawn and began to paint. Her painting activities attracted the attention of Churchill. Noticing his curiosity, Guni invited her brother-in-law to take part in the creative process himself. Winston reluctantly made a few strokes and was amazed at the change that had occurred. I wanted to draw more and more. Sensing his impatience, Gwendelyn gave him her six-year-old son's artist's set. But this was not enough for Churchill. He wanted to paint in oils, and only in oils.
The new hobby healed Winston from a severe attack of depression. To his surprise, Churchill discovered that, concentrating on painting, he forgot about all political squabbles and troubles. He once confessed to his cousin Claire Sheridan: “Sometimes I am ready to give up almost everything to paint.”
Churchill treated his new hobby with great love. His entrance into the open air was a truly majestic spectacle. First, the gardeners appeared - some carried a canvas and a stretcher, others brushes, a palette and tubes of paint. They were followed by Winston, dressed in a white teak frock coat, a light wide-brimmed hat and a cigar in his mouth. After assessing the landscape, he would give instructions on where to place the equipment and set up an umbrella for protection from the sun. When all preparations were completed, Churchill dismissed his retinue and got to work.
Since then, painting has become a constant part of the life of the great Briton. Easels, paints and bulky canvases always accompanied Winston on countless trips and business trips. Each house that the Churchills rented had a studio. Even in the tight time schedule of a statesman, he always tried to carve out an hour or two to pursue his new and, perhaps, strongest hobby. Winston drew everywhere. In ministerial offices and royal chambers. In the desert of Marrakech and on the coast of France. In the English open spaces and Canadian lakes.
In 1921, Winston sent several of his paintings to international exhibition in Paris, prudently signing them with the fictitious name Charles Morin. And six of his works were immediately awarded by the jury and put up for sale! 1925 brought even greater success to Churchill the painter. At an exhibition held in London among non-professional artists, his painting took first place. And here, of course, complete anonymity of the presented authors was also observed.
In 1947, Churchill sent several works to the Royal Academy of Arts. As with the 1921 Paris exhibition, all works were signed with a fictitious name, this time Mr. David Winter. Much to Winston's surprise, two of his paintings were accepted. And already in 1948 he was awarded the title of honorary member of the Royal Academy of Arts. Despite such a great honor, Churchill still remained modest in his assessment of his own artistic achievements. When he was offered an exhibition of his work in the late 1940s, he refused, noting:
- They don't deserve it. These paintings are valuable only because they were painted... - here Winston smiled broadly and continued: ... by a famous man.
The scandalous story of the missing portrait of Winston Churchill by Sutherland
IN Lately There has been renewed interest in British history in the world - this is due to the recent Anniversary celebrations of the British Royal House, the 2012 London Olympics and the release of several feature films and TV series dedicated to the current royal family and their entourage.
Before this, we knew something about Winston Churchill in general terms and very superficially: a great politician, great person, celebrity, complex character, did not like communists and the Soviet Union. And, of course, no one was particularly interested in his family and hobbies. Naturally, few people knew that the British Prime Minister had extraordinary literary talent and was a very good drawer. Moreover, he began to paint pictures after 40 and managed to create more than 500 of them!
For all his ambition and innate artistry, he decided to limit himself to a political career, reserving painting for himself as a hobby “not for the general public.” He had the tact and common sense not to impose on the general public the modest fruits of his innate artistic gift, although many of his works are very good. He submitted his works several times to various competitions and exhibitions, and always under an assumed name, and quite often the jury encouraged his paintings; at an exhibition of amateur artists in 1925, his work even took first place! Most of His works are landscapes, but he also painted portraits.
Churchill came from an ancient aristocratic family that gave England more than one influential politician and statesman. Winston inherited his artistic flair and artistry from his mother - she was a sophisticated woman; a true socialite and trendsetter who surrounded herself with antiques and elegant trinkets. So Winston, of course, understood art and considered himself an expert in painting, especially since he painted himself.
In 1954, Churchill celebrated his 80th birthday. Despite his advanced age and a whole “bouquet” of illnesses, he was not going to leave his career, believing that this would be disastrous for England and the young queen, who ascended the throne just two years ago. Age was the Prime Minister's weak point. Despite his enormous popularity among the people, his political enemies repeatedly repeated that “Churchill is no longer the same, it’s high time for him to retire.” True, before the celebration of the anniversary, even his enemies fell silent: Churchill’s services to his homeland were undeniable, the celebration had to be held at the highest level.
The then popular English artist Graham Sutherland was commissioned to paint a portrait of the prime minister in full height. It was a gift from the House of Commons and the House of Lords, with a donation of 1,000 guineas (approximately $35,000) as an honorarium. Graham Vivian Sutherland was a versatile artist, he painted portraits to order, but he himself preferred abstract painting and surrealism. He became famous as a portrait painter, having made a very successful portrait of the writer Somerset Maugham in 1949 (surprisingly, this was the artist’s first work in this genre!). In portraying people, Sutherland portrayed amazingly accurately and even mercilessly character traits personality, his works were truer than nature itself.
The recent British series The Crown shows the work on the portrait as it happened according to the creators of the series, but these events are not entirely true. Many hours of posing, intimate conversations and almost friendship between the artist and the model most likely did not exist, although both of them, as shown in the series, were indeed united by the death of their daughters.
Sutherland made very quick charcoal sketches of the portrait while posing at Churchill's Chartwell estate in August 1954. Also, to work on the portrait, he used photographs of Churchill, but did not take them himself, as shown in the series, but took photographic portraits of the photographer Elsbeth Judah. He worked on the portrait itself in his studio. He tried to reflect in his appearance what Churchill said about himself: “I am a rock.” The pose of the person being portrayed repeated the pose of Abraham Lincoln in his famous sculpture in a chair.
What Churchill himself expected from the portrait is eloquently evidenced by his desire to be depicted as the Knight of the Garter. The attire of the knights is very luxurious, elaborate (and slightly ridiculous, it must be said), that is, the ambitious and rather sentimental Churchill wanted to see greatness and triumph. Those who ordered the portrait persuaded him to pose in the usual parliamentary attire - a black suit and tie.
Churchill did not see the portrait until the end of the work; only some sketches were shown to his wife, who found many similarities; she admitted that the portrait was “really disturbingly similar to him.”
The series also shows an episode of the presentation of a portrait, when Churchill on stage almost falls off the stage from indignation and surprise. This didn't happen either. The portrait was shown to the Prime Minister before the presentation, so there was no thunder and lightning among the general public. Sutherland portrayed Churchill so accurately and truthfully that he was simply shocked to look into the eyes of the truth. An elderly, decrepit and very tired man was looking at the viewer. His look is sad and disappointed; he is not at all the powerful and majestic politician that Churchill imagined himself to be.
The subject was furious. He called the painting "dirty" and "evil"; He is known to have said that the portrait depicts “an old man in a state of depression, thinking about a nuclear bomb.” It must be said that the opinions of eyewitnesses about the portrait were very contradictory: some believed that it was a masterpiece of visual accuracy and truthfulness, others (and these were the majority) had a low opinion of it. At first, Churchill even wanted to refuse to participate in the award ceremony, but then he was dissuaded from this so as not to offend the customers.
Sutherland was surprised by Churchill's reaction, he said: “I just showed what I saw!”
After delivery, the painting was taken to the Chartwell estate, where it was immediately removed out of sight into an attic or closet. After that, the portrait disappeared without a trace. It is believed that Churchill's wife Clementine destroyed it so that the sight of the painting would not torment her husband. It should be added that another advantage of the Prime Minister was that he adored his wife until the end of his life and was an excellent family man; he and Clementine had a strong marriage, in which five children were born.
Apparently, the hated portrait nevertheless made a strong impression on the Prime Minister, showing him what he had so long and stubbornly refused to see. Six months later, Churchill resigned due to age and health. True, the unbending Winston lived for another 10 years after that.
Now the portrait, known to us only from sketches and reproductions, is recognized by experts as a true masterpiece of modern art. So his contemporaries were quick to give him unflattering assessments - Sutherland was simply a little ahead of his time.
