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
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
“Sinews of Peace,” commonly known as the “Iron
Curtain Speech on March 5, 1946.
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 StGeorges-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
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
Checklist 2-15-2016
Sir Winston Churchill Exhibition
The Queen Mary, Long Beach, California
Checklist of Objects and Paintings to Be Loaned
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
Checklist 2-15-2016
Sir Winston Churchill Exhibition
The Queen Mary, Long Beach, California
Checklist of Objects and Paintings to Be Loaned
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
Checklist 2-15-2016
Sir Winston Churchill Exhibition
The Queen Mary, Long Beach, California
Checklist of Objects and Paintings to Be Loaned
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
Checklist 2-15-2016
Sir Winston Churchill Exhibition
The Queen Mary, Long Beach, California
Checklist of Objects and Paintings to Be Loaned
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
Checklist 2-15-2016
Sir Winston Churchill Exhibition
The Queen Mary, Long Beach, California
Checklist of Objects and Paintings to Be Loaned
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
Checklist 2-15-2016