Painting by Graham Sutherland is being displayed at Blenheim Palace before being auctioned in June
A member of staff from Sotheby's poses for the media with a portrait of the former British prime minister Winston Churchill, painted by Graham Sutherland in 1954, at Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, England.A member of staff from Sotheby's poses for the media with a portrait of the former British prime minister Winston Churchill, painted by Graham Sutherland in 1954, at Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, England.
An episode of hit Netflix drama the Crown revolved around the creation of the painting and showed Churchill’s wife Clementine watching it go up in flames following its unveiling. Churchill and Sutherland had not met before the commission of the birthday portrait, although by then Sutherland was at the forefront of modern British art and was regarded as more important than his contemporary Francis Bacon. Churchill was himself a keen and well-regarded amateur artist.
The historian Simon Schama said in 2015: “The painting is an extraordinary homage to Churchill. What Sutherland saw in front of him was a magnificent ruin … Churchill said it made him look half-witted. It doesn’t. It is a man of years.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Yinka Shonibare CBE review – where Churchill finds his inner psychedelic dandyFrom colonial leaders dressed in trippy patterns to a library of historical conflicts, this delightful show brings a welcome wit and rationality to today’s angry debates
Read more »
Chumbawamba tells NZ deputy PM Winston Peters to stop using its Tubthumping anthemLead guitarist Boff Whalley says band does not share views of Winston Peters, who recently compared co-governance to policies of Nazi Germany
Read more »
Boris Johnson calls Rishi Sunak’s smoking ban ‘absolutely nuts’Former PM laments state of Tory party saying it is ‘mad’ that party of Winston Churchill is ‘banning cigars’
Read more »
German art museum fires worker for hanging his own painting in galleryStaff member put work on display at Munich’s Pinakothek der Moderne ‘in hope of achieving his breakthrough’
Read more »
Brett Whiteley's Painting 'The Wren' Acquired by Joan and Peter ClemengerJoan and Peter Clemenger purchased Brett Whiteley's painting 'The Wren' in 1978. The painting features a blue bird in a yellow grassland with a river and rocky outcrops.
Read more »
Arthur Streeton painting of Sydney Harbour shown in public for first time in 130 yearsPainting by influential Australian impressionist, unseen for more than a century, has been unveiled ahead of auction where it is expected to fetch up to $1.5m
Read more »