The statue of Winston Churchill on

Embassy Row Embassy Row is the informal name for a section of Northwest Washington, D.C., with a high concentration of embassies, diplomatic missions, and diplomatic residences. It spans Massachusetts Avenue N.W. between 18th and 35th street, bounded ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, is a bronze memorial in honor of British Prime Minister

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

. The plan to erect a memorial began after Churchill's 89th birthday. The English-Speaking Union (ESU) was the driving force behind the fundraising and installation of the statue. Eight sculptors submitted designs for the statue and the person chosen was William M. McVey. The architectural firms for the site were George F. Dalton and Associates and Fred Toguchi Associates. There was a delay in finishing the statue due to opposition from some ESU members that the statue included Churchill holding a cigar. After a vote took place, it was decided to keep the cigar. The statue is placed so that one foot is on the Embassy of the United Kingdom's soil, and the other foot is on American soil. The unveiling and dedication took place on April 9, 1966, with notable attendees including Secretary of State

Dean Rusk David Dean Rusk (February 9, 1909December 20, 1994) was the United States secretary of state from 1961 to 1969 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, the second-longest serving secretary of state after Cordell Hull from the ...

, Supreme Court Justice

Earl Warren Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 30th governor of California from 1943 to 1953 and as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presid ...

, and Churchill's son, Randolph.

History

Memorial plans

Businessman Alexander Liggett brought up the idea of erecting a statue of

, as a way to demonstrate the

Special Relationship The Special Relationship is an unofficial term for relations between the United Kingdom and the United States. Special Relationship also may refer to: * Special relationship (international relations), other exceptionally strong ties between nat ...

between the U.S. and the U.K. On Churchill's 89th birthday, the English-Speaking Union (ESU) announced the organization would be erecting a statue in his honor. Plans for the memorial, with considerable input from American Kay Halle, included a two-country design to demonstrate Churchill's ancestry and closeness with the U.S. Eight sculptors submitted designs for the statue. The sculptor chosen, William M. McVey, had created a soft clay model for his design. It was stolen during a political gathering at a hotel and was never recovered. McVey began working on the statue in 1964, while teaching at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

(OSU), and sculpted it in one of the university's labs. He took a leave of absence from being the director of sculpture at the Cleveland Institute of Art to teach at OSU and sculpt Churchill's statue. There was considerable debate about the inclusion of a cigar in the statue. After a vote by the ESU, it was decided to keep the cigar. An article from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said "Critics had contended it would be undignified. Cigar proponents argued a cigarless Churchill would not be an authentic Churchill." According to McVey, there were only 22 out of 300 photos of Churchill he looked at that did not include a cigar. The architectural firms chosen to design the site were George F. Dalton and Associates and Fred Toguchi Associates.

Dedication

The unveiling and dedication ceremony for the statue took place on April 9, 1966. U.S. Secretary of State

was the one chosen to unveil the statue while the

United States Marine Band The United States Marine Band is the premier band of the United States Marine Corps. Established by act of Congress on July 11, 1798, it is the oldest of the United States military bands and the oldest professional musical organization in the ...

played ''

Battle Hymn of the Republic The "Battle Hymn of the Republic" is an American patriotic music, American patriotic song written by the abolitionist writer Julia Ward Howe during the American Civil War. Howe adapted her song from the soldiers' song "John Brown's Body" in N ...

'', a song loved by Churchill. Amongst other attendees were U.S. Supreme Court Justice

, General

Lauris Norstad Lauris Norstad (March 24, 1907 – September 12, 1988) was an American general officer in the United States Army and United States Air Force. Early life and military career Lauris Norstad was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Martin and Marie No ...

, British Ambassador Patrick Dean, and Churchill's son Randolph. The ceremony took place three years to the date since Churchill received his

honorary citizenship of the United States A person of exceptional merit, a non-United States citizen, may be declared an honorary citizen of the United States by an Act of Congress or by a proclamation issued by the president of the United States, pursuant to authorization granted by Unite ...

. Before Churchill died in 1965, he was shown the plans for the statue and wrote a letter expressing his support and thankfulness. Speakers at the event included Rusk and Churchill's son. Rusk read a letter from U.S. President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

which said he was issuing a proclamation that every April 9th should be known as Churchill Day.

Later history

When McVey died in 1995, it was noted in ''The New York Times'' the statue of Churchill was his best work. Churchill's statue has stood across the street from the statue of Nelson Mandela since 2013, when the latter was dedicated in front of the Embassy of South Africa. In 2023, during the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

, two supporters of Ukraine started tying yellow and blue balloons to statues in

The Churchill statue was one of many the two decorated with the balloons.

Location and design

The Churchill statue stands in front of the Embassy of the United Kingdom in Washington, D.C. The embassy is located at 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW on

. The straddling placement of the statue, one foot on the embassy's land and one foot on American land, was designed on purpose. Its placement demonstrates Churchill being born in the U.S., in addition to him receiving honorary citizenship of the United States. The bronze statue of Churchill is tall, resting on a granite pedestal that is tall. He is depicted walking while his right hand gives the

V sign The ''V'' sign is a hand gesture in which the index and middle fingers are raised and parted to make a ''V'' shape while the other fingers are clenched. It has various meanings, depending on the circumstances and how it is presented. When dis ...

and his left hand is holding the top of his cane. His left hand is also holding a cigar. He is dressed wearing a suit with a bowtie and vest. Beneath the statue is a

time capsule A time capsule is a historic treasure trove, cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy ...

to be opened in 2063, the 100-year anniversary of Churchill receiving his honorary U.S. citizenship. Underneath the base is soil from

Blenheim Palace Blenheim Palace ( ) is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough. Originally called Blenheim Castle, it has been known as Blenheim Palace since the 19th century. One of England's larg ...

Chartwell Chartwell is a English country house, country house near Westerham, Kent, in South East England. For over forty years, it was the home of Sir Winston Churchill. He bought the property in September 1922 and lived there until shortly before his ...

, and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, his childhood home, his home as an adult, and his mother's home in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, respectively.

References

External links

"Winston Churchill statue"
video by

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

{{Portal bar, Visual arts, United States 1966 establishments in Washington, D.C. 1966 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Washington, D.C. Embassy Row Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C. Outdoor sculptures in Washington, D.C. Sculptures of men in Washington, D.C. Statues in Washington, D.C.