Winston Churchill as painter
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Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
was introduced to
painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...
during a family holiday in June 1915, when his political career was at a low ebb. He continued this hobby into his old age, painting over 500 pictures of subjects such as his goldfish pond at
Chartwell Chartwell is a country house near Westerham, Kent, in South East England. For over forty years it was the home of Winston Churchill. He bought the property in September 1922 and lived there until shortly before his death in January 1965. In th ...
and the landscapes and buildings of
Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...
. He sold some works, but he also gave away many of the works that he self-deprecatingly described as "daubs" as gifts.


1915

In May 1915, in the wake of the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign for which Churchill was widely held to be responsible, he had been removed from his post as First Lord of the Admiralty with demotion to Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He was somewhat depressed about that turn of events and was worried about the direction his career might take in the future. In June, he hired Hoe Farm, a country house in
Hascombe Hascombe is a village in Surrey, England. It contains a large cluster of cottages and country estates, St Peter's church, the village green, a fountain, pond, a central public house and is surrounded by steep wooded hillsides. History Above the ...
near
Godalming Godalming is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settleme ...
in Sussex, for a holiday with various members of his family, one of whom was his sister-in-law, Lady Gwendoline ("Goonie") Churchill (1885–1941), his brother's wife. Goonie was an amateur artist and Churchill watched her painting a
watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...
. She invited him to take her brush and try it for himself. He was immediately captivated and painting became a lifelong hobby. He freely admitted that it revived his spirits and, as with writing, became an antidote to his frequent bouts of depression. He began with watercolour but soon applied himself to oils. Churchill took painting materials to the
Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...
when he went on active military service in 1915–16, painting the towns and landscape near
Ploegsteert Wood Ploegsteert Wood was a sector of the Western Front in Flanders in World War I, part of the Ypres Salient. It is located around the Belgian village of Ploegsteert, Wallonia. After fierce fighting in late 1914 and early 1915, Ploegsteert Wood bec ...
in Flanders where he commanded the 6th Battalion,
Royal Scots Fusiliers The Royal Scots Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1678 until 1959 when it was amalgamated with the Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment) to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Mar ...
. He continued to paint after he returned to government as
Minister of Munitions The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis of ...
in 1917. He received direction and encouragement from several professional artists, including his London neighbour Sir
John Lavery Sir John Lavery (20 March 1856 – 10 January 1941) was a Northern Irish painter best known for his portraits and wartime depictions. Life and career John Lavery was born in inner North Belfast, baptised at St Patrick's Church, Belfast a ...
, and later also
Walter Sickert Walter Richard Sickert (31 May 1860 – 22 January 1942) was a German-born British painter and printmaker who was a member of the Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionist artists in early 20th-century London. He was an important influence on d ...
, William Nicholson and
Paul Maze Paul Lucien Maze (21 May 1887 – 17 September 1979) was an Anglo-French painter. He is often known as “The last of the Post Impressionists" and was one of the great artists of his generation. His mediums included oils, watercolours and pastel ...
. His ''Portrait of Sir John Lavery in his Studio'' was shown at the annual exhibition of the
Royal Society of Portrait Painters The Royal Society of Portrait Painters is a charity based at Carlton House Terrace, SW1, London that promotes the practice and appreciation of portraiture. Its Annual Exhibition of portraiture is held at Mall Galleries, and it runs a commissio ...
in London in 1919.


1920s

Churchill became
Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, British Cabinet government minister, minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various British Empire, colonial dependencies. Histor ...
in February 1921. The following month, the first public exhibition of his paintings was held at the in Paris, with Churchill exhibiting under his pseudonym of "Charles Morin". Several of his landscape works were sold, at £30 each. He painted the pyramids when he visited Egypt as
Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, British Cabinet government minister, minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various British Empire, colonial dependencies. Histor ...
for the
Cairo Conference The Cairo Conference (codenamed Sextant) also known as the First Cairo Conference, was one of the 14 summit meetings during World War II that occurred on November 22–26, 1943. The Conference was held in Cairo, Egypt, between the United Kingdo ...
in 1921, to determine arrangements for the government of
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
and
Transjordan Transjordan may refer to: * Transjordan (region), an area to the east of the Jordan River * Oultrejordain, a Crusader lordship (1118–1187), also called Transjordan * Emirate of Transjordan, British protectorate (1921–1946) * Hashemite Kingdom of ...
under British control. He wrote about his enjoyment of painting in two articles published in ''
The Strand Magazine ''The Strand Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine founded by George Newnes, composed of short fiction and general interest articles. It was published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950, running to 711 issues, though the ...
'' in December 1921 and January 1922, ''Hobbies'' and ''Painting as a pastime'', for which he was paid £1,000. His essays were republished several times in different publications in the following years.''Painting As A Pastime'', 1948
Chartwell Booksellers
In September 1922, Churchill's fifth and last child,
Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
, was born, and in the same month he purchased
Chartwell Chartwell is a country house near Westerham, Kent, in South East England. For over forty years it was the home of Winston Churchill. He bought the property in September 1922 and lived there until shortly before his death in January 1965. In th ...
, in
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, which was the family home for the rest of his life. He constructed a studio at Chartwell in the 1930s, laying the bricks himself. The house and its gardens became a frequent source of inspiration for his paintings and Mary, who became Mary Soames, went on to write ''Winston Churchill: His Life as a Painter'' (1990) as a record of her father's art. Soon afterwards, Churchill underwent an operation for appendicitis. While he was in hospital, the Conservatives withdrew from
David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
's coalition government, precipitating the November 1922 general election, in which Churchill lost his seat in
Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
. He later wrote that he was "without an office, without a seat, without a party, and without an appendix". He spent much of the next six months at the Villa Rêve d'Or near
Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
, where he devoted himself to painting and writing ''
The World Crisis ''The World Crisis'' is Winston Churchill's account of the First World War, published in six volumes (technically five, as Volume III was published in two parts). Published between 1923 and 1931: in many respects it prefigures his better-know ...
'', his memoirs of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. He was re-elected to Parliament on 29 October 1924, as
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for
Epping Epping may refer to: Places Australia * Epping, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Epping railway station, Sydney * Electoral district of Epping, the corresponding seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly * Epping Forest, Kearns, a he ...
, and was appointed
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
. This role curtailed his hobbies somewhat but he continued to paint whenever possible, as when he took a lengthy Mediterranean holiday in January 1927, visiting Malta, Naples, Athens and Rome.


1940s

Churchill claimed to have painted only one picture while serving as British Prime Minister during the Second World War, '' Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque'', a view of
Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...
and the
Atlas Mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. It separates the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range. It stretches around through Moroc ...
, painted from the balcony of the Villa Taylor while on an excursion with the U.S. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
during the Casablanca Conference in January 1943. He later gave this painting of the
Kutubiyya Mosque The Kutubiyya Mosque ( ; Berber: ⵜⵉⵎⵣⴳⵉⴷⴰ ⵏ ⵍⴽⵓⵜⵓⴱⵉⵢⵢⴰ, french: Mosquée Koutoubia) or Koutoubia Mosque is the largest mosque in Marrakesh, Morocco. The mosque's name is also variably rendered as Jami' al-K ...
to Roosevelt as a memento of their time together. It was sold by Roosevelt's son Elliott in 1950.Sir Winston Churchill, O.M., R.A. (1874–1965), ''Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque''
Christie's, 1 March 2021
It was bought privately by Angelina Jolie in 2011 and subsequently sold at
Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...
in 2021 for £7 million (£8.285M including buyer's premium). Using the pseudonym "David Winter", Churchill submitted paintings for the
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition The Summer Exhibition is an open art exhibition held annually by the Royal Academy in Burlington House, Piccadilly in central London, England, during the months of June, July, and August. The exhibition includes paintings, prints, drawings, sc ...
in 1947 and 1948, having works selected each year. The
Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...
elected Churchill as an "Honorary Academician Extraordinary" in 1948."Was Churchill a good artist?"
International Churchill Society
His book ''Painting As A Pastime'' was published by
Odhams Press Odhams Press was a British publishing company, operating from 1920 to 1968. Originally a magazine publisher, Odhams later expanded into book publishing and then children's comics. The company was acquired by Fleetway Publications in 1961 and th ...
in 1948, based on his 1921–22 ''Strand'' essays and illustrated with 18 colour plates of his works.


1950s and later

In 1954, in a collection of essays published to mark Churchill’s eightieth birthday,
Sir John Rothenstein ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English language, English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist i ...
, art historian and Director of The
Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
, contributed an appraisal of Churchill as an artist. He described a visit to the Chartwell studio in 1949, recording his alarm when, in response to a criticism of a picture painted twenty years before, Churchill began assembling paints and brushes to undertake a reworking. In his appreciation, Rothenstein noted Churchill’s lack of formal training and his limitations as a painter, but praised “the skilful choice of subjects within his range, to which he respond dardently. In these there comes surging irrepressibly up his sheer joy in the simple beauties of nature”. ee box. The "Churchill, the Painter" exhibition toured museums in North America in 1958, and was also shown at the Royal Academy in early 1959. Some U.S. galleries were dismissive: the assistant director of the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh said "I understand that Churchill is a terrific bricklayer too, but nobody is exhibiting bricks this season"; the director of the
Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
observed that "We have certain professional standards." In 1967, the art historian
David Coombs David John Coombs (born February 1937) is a British author, historian, and teacher. He is a former editor of the '' Antique Collector'' and was a columnist for the British weekly trade magazine, '' Antiques Gazette''. Coombs is best known for h ...
published a '' catalogue raisonné'' of Churchill's works, entitled ''Churchill: his paintings''. The catalogue contains illustrations of, and details about, each of over 500 paintings known to have been undertaken by Churchill at the time of publication. An exhibition of 105 Churchill paintings, held by
Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...
in London in early 1998, was visited by 12,000 people in two weeks."UK – Churchill paintings go on display"
AP archive, 16 January 1998
"Sir Winston Churchill: His Life and Painting"
David Coombs, from "Finest Hour 100", Autumn 1998, International Churchill Society


Notes


References


Citations


Sources

* * * The book includes illustrations of more than 500 paintings by Churchill. * * * * * * *


External links


''Blood, Sweat and Oil Paint''
Andrew Marr on Churchill.
Winston Spencer Churchill
190 Churchill paintings at
Art UK Art UK is a cultural, education charity in the United Kingdom, previously known as the Public Catalogue Foundation. Since 2003, it has digitised more than 220,000 paintings by more than 40,000 artists and is now expanding the digital collection t ...

'Painting as a Pastime'
Article with background on the book of the same name on the Churchill Book Collector website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Churchill, Winston, as painter
Painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
English male painters Honorary Members of the Royal Academy