Heather James Fine Art presents a selection of 10 paintings by Winston Churchill. Originating from a single-family owner, the artworks are from the largest private collection of Churchill’s paintings outside of the United Kingdom, and have never been exhibited publicly. The general public knows less of Churchill as a painter than as one of the world’s greatest statesmen and Nobel Prize winning writer. His paintings played a critical role in his life, offering another way to understand this towering figure.
“Heather James is thrilled to present this superb selection of paintings by Winston Churchill,” says Heather James Fine Art Co-Founder Jim Carona. “Not only was Churchill one of the greatest statesmen of the modern era, but his personal foray into painting showcased his inner workings with resulting artworks that are technically adept and aesthetically beautiful. These works read like pages out of his diary, mementos of the moments and places that were meaningful to one of the most important men of his day. We at Heather James have had the honor of working closely with Churchill’s family and his oeuvre in the past and consider his works a specialty of ours. It is a joy to be able to share these phenomenal examples.”
Winston Churchill: Making Art, Making History, an exhibition celebrating Churchill and his paintings at Heather James, asks us to contemplate the role of painting in his kaleidoscopic life.
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The ten paintings offered by Heather James range from bold landscapes, a vibrant still life, and a quiet interior portrait. It was the Impressionist influence and his own pleasure that most likely made landscapes the genre of choice for Churchill. Painting en plein air was a hallmark for the Impressionists and so too did Churchill haul his paints and canvas outdoors and into nature. Looking at a landscape painting by Churchill is like reading a page of his diary. Given the many demands on his time and his accomplishments both as a politician and as a writer, the quality and productivity of his artistic output is difficult to fathom.
The ten works for sale from this collection include a number of superb examples both of Churchill’s skill as a painter and the interesting stories behind the man and the paintings:
At the Tate Museum’s request, Churchill offered it to them in 1955 for acquisition, along with Loup River, as a “gift to the nation”. Loup River was selected and On the Rance ended up lost in a storeroom at the Tate, where it remained undiscovered for nearly a half century.
The Bay of Eze
Painted close to the home of Churchill’s lifelong friend and cousin by marriage, Consuelo Balsan née Vanderbilt, a Gilded Age American socialite.
Oranges and Lemons
Churchill painted this work in January 1958 at La Pausa, once the home of Coco Chanel. At the time it was owned by Churchill’s literary agent, Emery Reves, and his wife, Wendy. Ms. Reves later donated a portion of her Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collection to the Dallas Museum of Art, including works by Cezanne, who Churchill cited as an inspiration.
View of Loch Choire
Churchill painted this in 1919 while staying with his friend, the Duke of Sutherland, at Dunrobin Castle in Scotland, just a few years after he started painting at age 40. He returned to Dunrobin Castle in 1921 to recover shortly after losing his daughter Marigold, aged nearly 4. This was the second devastating death that year, as he also lost his American mother, Jennie Cornwallis-West.
Winston Churchill and his paintings are an area of expertise for Heather James. In 2018, Heather James Fine Art was proud to present an exhibition of ten of Winston Churchill’s paintings.
For nearly 30 years, Heather James Fine Art has expanded into a global network with galleries located in Palm Desert, California, and Jackson Hole, Wyoming, along with consultancies in New York City, London, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Montecito, Newport Beach, Palm Beach, Basel in Switzerland, and Lake Como in Italy. Each year, its galleries present an array of museum-quality exhibitions exploring historical and contemporary themes or examining the work of individual influential artists.
Heather James Fine Art is dedicated to bringing exceptional art to private clients and museums globally while providing the utmost personalized logistical, curatorial, and financial services.
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