LONDON.- ‘Churchill and his Artistic Allies’ is an exhibition of works by Sir Winston Churchill and the three artists who were most influential in his development as a painter: Sir John Lavery, Sir William Nicholson and Walter Richard Sickert. Churchill first picked up a paintbrush in June 1915, aged 40, initially as a means of diversion and escapism from the pressures of politics, following his resignation as First Lord of the Admiralty after the unsuccessful Dardanelles campaign. Encouraged firstly by Hazel Lavery, the wife of Sir John Lavery, painting proved to be one of the greatest pleasures of Churchill’s life, a passion which he was to pursue with unyielding enthusiasm until his passing in 1965.

Sir John Lavery was perhaps the most significant influence on Churchill’s painting. It was with Lavery that he began his education as an artist, painting side by side in his studio nearby. Lavery taught Churchill about the importance of light and helped him to perfect the depiction of water – using Post-Impressionistic techniques to successfully capture reflections and the dapple of light, the striking effects of which can be seen in some of Churchill’s finest works. Lavery was also first to introduce Churchill to painting in both the South of France and North Africa, in particular Morocco, where both were struck by the brilliance of light and its effect on the landscape. Both locations became of significant importance to Churchill’s painting and are today the subjects of some of his most celebrated works. The Atlas Mountains from Marrakech (circa 1949) marries together Churchill’s two great passions – painting and cigars. One of the masterpieces within his oeuvre, Churchill gifted this magnificent painting to Antonio Giraudier, a Cuban businessman who supplied him with cigars for almost 20 years. Lavery’s Played!! (1885) is a naturalistic portrayal of a young woman playing tennis, the movement of the game of tennis captured in a plein-air scene that marked a departure in Lavery’s practice.




Walter Richard Sickert, who had been a childhood friend of Churchill’s wife, Clementine, became another influential figure in Churchill’s developments as a painter. They first met in 1927 and became close friends. Although their choice of subject matter was often quite different, Sickert, helped with the development of new painting techniques, including camaieu, the preparation of canvases through the under-painting of several layers, and the process of squaring up and enlarging images for transfer to larger scale canvases. The Rialto Bridge (circa 1901), a night scene in Venice of the bridge seen from the Grand Canal demonstrates the very technique that would inspire Churchill’s future paintings.

The final in the trio of allies is Sir William Nicholson. Over a period of many months during 1933, Nicholson lived at Churchill’s home, Chartwell Manor. While there, he imparted to Churchill his love of the still life, his interest in and mastery with depicting contrasting surfaces, and his harmonious and carefully balanced palette, the influence of which we can see in Churchill’s work from this period onwards. Painted in 1931, Pink Cattleyas was painted on Sir William Nicholson’s trip to South Africa while he was visiting his wife’s parents, Sir Lionel and Lady Phillips. These tropical plants originated in South America, and their frilled, exotic flowers provided Nicholson with a bold yet delicate subject which evidently captured his attention. Nicholson has positioned them in a liqueur glass which sits on a moulded blue glass plate, behind which is a small glass ashtray. This simple and elegant composition, in which the small number of objects are set against an unadorned background, typifies Nicholson’s paintings of the early 1930s. This is presented alongside a still life entitled Orchids, created by Sir Winston Churchill in 1948.

Chartwell Manor was characterised by the Churchill’s generosity and boundless hospitality. It was frequently full of family members, friends and Churchill’s colleagues, with luminaries, such as T.E. Lawrence, Charlie Chaplin and his three artistic allies: Sir John Lavery, Sir William Nicholson and Walter Richard Sickert amongst regular guests. Chartwell symbolised for Churchill a refuge and safe haven from the incredible pressures of his professional life, as well as representing an English Arcadia. Chartwell Landscape with Sheep (circa 1946) is one of only four known works that depicts the panoramic views from the house and grounds, with the rolling hills of Kent beyond, with the other three works remaining in the collection of the National Trust and the Churchill family.

Spanning the first half of the 20th Century, the paintings in this exhibition offer an insight into the work of this group of important British artists. Tracking the influences of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism on their work, and in turn their impact on the painting of Churchill.