Winston Churchill’s first painting after WW2 up for grabs
April 18th, 2011 - 6:29 pm ICT by ANILondon, April 18 (ANI): First painting made by Sir Winston Churchill after the end of the Second World War is set to go under hammer in London for the first time.
He created Villa on the Nivelle, during a brief pause in British politics; after the general election on July 5, 1945, and before the result was announced on July 26 when he was unexpectedly defeated by Labour.
The wartime Prime Minister had taken a short holiday with his wife Clementine to the Basque region of France at the Chateau de Bordaberry, as the guest of Brigadier-General Brutinel.
Despite being a keen artist he painted only once in almost five years from Hitler’s invasion of Poland in September 1939 until the end of the war.
He was persuaded to take up his paintbrush again by fellow chateau guest Margaret Nairn, the wife of the British Consul in Bordeaux Bryce Nairn, who had previously been a professional painter.
A rare photograph documents him in the middle of painting the work. It will be sold at Christie’s in London on May 26 and is expected to fetch up to 300,000 pounds.
“Painting was something that he discovered at the time of the Dardanelles disaster [also known as the Battle of Gallipoli] when he was at his lowest ebb. It gave him solace,” the Telegraph quoted Historian Andrew Roberts as saying.
“We are used to the adventurous side of Churchill. This contemplative side of Churchill shows his multifarious personality.”
“It came as a surprise to him that he lost the election. But he was determined to honour the will of the electorate,” Roberts added. (ANI)
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