Winston Churchill was no Adonis but most of his portraitists did what they could to flatter him. In the event, Sutherland did produce a relatively complete study for such a portrait, having another sitter model the Garter robes. Subscribe now and receive weekly newsletters with educational materials, new courses, interesting posts, popular books, and much more! 2 Mary Soames, Clementine Churchill: The Biography of a Marriage (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1970, 587. His work was much inspired by landscape and religion, and he designed the tapestry for the re-built Coventry Cathedral. LONDON, Feb. 12 (AP)—The Graham Sutherland portrait of Sir Winston Churchill that the late Prime Minister loathed was burned in an incinerator in 1955 … Graham Sutherland was a British painter best known for his Surrealist abstractions of landscapes and figures. As 80th birthday presents go, it was one of the more awkward in political history: a … They intend it to remain with him for his lifetime, and then to hang in the Palace of Westminster. Churchill looks at the portrait and remarks, with a combination of presence, timing and a successful masking of emotion: “The portrait is a remarkable example of modern art. Things started off hopefully enough. It is his eightieth birthday. (Wikimedia). Back to Graham Sutherland, OM (1903-1980) Quite the same Wikipedia. In June 2016 (see previous article), Alistair Lexden published an article about Graham Sutherland’s acclaimed, but deeply controversial portrait of Winston Churchill.Presented to him on his eightieth birthday, 30 November 1954, the picture was later destroyed on his wife’s instructions. This powerful drawing is a study for Graham Sutherland’s famous portrait of Sir Winston Churchill. Graham Sutherland is a ‘Wow.’ He really is a most attractive man and one can hardly believe that the savage cruel designs which he exhibits come from his brush. The painting was presented to Churchill by both Houses of Parliament at a public ceremony in Westminster Hall on his 80th birthday on 30 November 1954. Churchill had smashed the portrait in the cellar of the Churchill country home at Chartwell, where it was kept behind a boiler, then gave it to him to burn. Sutherland captured him at a time he hated, when he knew almost all was behind him. Undoubtedly, Sir Winston was deeply depressed by the current political situation, raging mightily against the dying of the light. Sir Winston loathed it. On 20 November Lady Churchill previewed the portrait. Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalen (Noli Me Tangere) Graham Sutherland 1961. A longtime Churchill bibliophile and collector, he was formerly associate editor of Finest Hour. 3 Roger Berthoud, Graham Sutherland: A Biography (London: Faber & Faber, 1982), 189. Destroying the World Famous Portrait of Winston Churchill which was said to be the Best Portrait of the World ever drawn, and it was drawn by Graham Sutherland. In honor of Sir Winston Churchill's 80th birthday, Graham Sutherland was commissioned by the state to paint Churchill's portrait. Winston Churchill hated Sutherland's depiction of him. Winston Churchill, Graham Sutherland (1954) Jonathan Jones. The painting of Winston Churchill by Graham Sutherland was commissioned by both Houses of Parliament to commemorate Churchill’s 80 th birthday. Graham Sutherland lived and worked in Pembrokeshire. Churchill and Sutherland friend Somerset Maugham was present at the viewing. 6 Rhodes James, Complete Speeches, VIII, 8608. The Churchill Project - Hillsdale College > Articles > Graham Sutherland. A painter, not a photographer, he worked within his brief and certainly within his style. Previous sitters described their experience as 'a form of cruelty' or 'disparagement'. We open with some reactions to the portrait’s unveiling: Winston Churchill was no Adonis but most of his portraitists did what they could to flatter him. 03. In June 1954 the cumbersomely named “Churchill Joint Houses of Parliament Gift Committee” decided on the presentation of a portrait and who should receive the commission. Sir Winston Churchill : [Sits on the sofa] You make monsters of everyone you admire? x 14 1/4 in. But we have to accept, and perhaps understand, the action of Clementine in destroying the original. The Gift Committee laid down the strict requirement that Churchill appear in normal parliamentary dress. Sutherland was dedicated to depicting the sitter with unwavering honesty, he wasn't interested in flattery. “The suggestion about Graham Sutherland was not smiled on at all. Sep. ... “Winston Churchill: A Life in the News,” by Richard Toye. He […] GRAHAM SUTHERLAND’S PORTRAIT OF SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL (1954) by Celia Lee The following article is a discussion of the known facts, that include an exclusive interview with Lady Williams the former Miss Jane Portal, who was at that time (1954) Secretary to Sir Winston Churchill. This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Graham Sutherland : I accepted this commission because I admired you and I came through the experience admiring you even more. In 1955, Sutherland and his wife purchased a property near Nice. Sir Winston Churchill : [Sits on the sofa] You make monsters of everyone you admire? He had rallied his country at a time of mortal peril. 8, Never Despair 1945-1965 (Hillsdale College Press, 2013), 1253. From Martin Gilbert, Winston S. Churchill, vol. Churchill’s doctor Lord Moran worried that Sutherland would give up and “paint the legend.” Sir Winston, Moran said, “is always acting. The portrait was commissioned by the Houses of Parliament in 1954 and was presented at Westminster Hall in November that year. In the mid-1950s Grace Hamblin, longtime Churchill and Chartwell stalwart, aided by her brother, took the portrait several miles from Chartwell and committed it to the flames of a huge bonfire. As well as the portrait, Winston had been presented with a book signed by almost every member of both houses, and a cheque for £140,000. (New York: Bowker, 1974), VIII, 8608. Those gifts he certainly appreciated. There were six studies of the head. In October 1957 Clementine had written to Lord Beaverbrook: “[It] will never see the light of day.”11 By then the ashes were long cold. Technically, no. There came a prompt and chilly response from Anthony Montague Browne, Churchill’s private secretary. It was not hers to destroy. Mr. Turrell has recently retired from a lifetime career in Information Technology. She gave every indication of liking it. Graham Sutherland : I accepted this commission because I admired you and I came through the experience admiring you even more. Of his own portrait, Churchill wrote to Lord Moran ,“I think it is malignant.” Times change. Oct 9, 2012 - A tribute to the British artist and painter GRAHAM SUTHERLAND and his painting of Winston Spencer Churchill. Then suddenly the rules changed. 1 Robert Rhodes James, ed., Winston S. Churchill, His Complete Speeches, 1897-1963, 8 vols. As tensions with Phillip increase, Elizabeth spends time with her old friend Porchey. Archives, Beaverbrook Art Gallery. The scene is familiar to students of Churchill’s life. The public never saw the portrait again. Upon unveiling the painting by modern artist Graham Sutherland (portrayed with subdued depth by Stephen Dillane in the Netflix series), Churchill wryly joked, as … 7 Graham Sutherland to Lord Beaverbrook, 21 March 1961. See available works on paper, prints and multiples, and paintings for sale and learn about the artist. That is not to say that there was no demand for it. In 1954 Graham Sutherland was commissioned to paint the portrait of Sir Winston Churchill. See the article in its original context from. (A copy was later made and given to the Carlton Club, but it is not on display.) Canada houses part of the historical moment between Winston Churchill and his portrait artist, as portrayed on Netflix's The Crown ... the artist, Graham Sutherland, created 19 studies of … The Churchill Project - Hillsdale College, In Defense of Graham Sutherland and his “Infamous” Churchill Portrait, 1100 Titles: An Annotated Bibliography of Works about Churchill, Great Contemporaries: Pamela Digby Churchill Hayward Harriman, The Todman Duology: Plus ça Change, The Churchill Narrative Survives, A Vital Medical Contribution by Doctors Vale and Scadding, The Bumptious Politician’s Guide to Churchill Myths and their Making, Great Contemporaries: Alan Brooke, the Thoroughbred Professional, Cancel-Culture: We Expected Better from the National Trust and the BBC, Stephen Wynn on the Sweet and Sour of Churchill’s Decision-making, Paul Courtenay 1934-2020: No Better Definition of a Pro, Churchill’s Alternative History: Robert E. Lee’s Triumph at Gettysburg. The sitter is Winston Churchill and the man deemed fit for the task of painting him is Graham Sutherland. He had, in June, made a somewhat clumsy attempt to convene Eisenhower, Malenkov and himself in a three-power nuclear containment summit and had been quite soundly rebuffed. GRAHAM SUTHERLAND’S PORTRAIT OF SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL (1954) by Celia Lee The following article is a discussion of the known facts, that include an exclusive interview with Lady Williams the former Miss Jane Portal, who was at that time (1954) Secretary to Sir Winston Churchill. Sir Winston saw his political and personal powers fading. 5 Soames, Clementine Churchill, 589. After initially refusing to be presented with it at all, he accepted it disparagingly as “a remarkable example of modern art". Winston Churchill. In desperation the artist asked photographer Elsbeth Juda to accompany him. Times change 2012 - a tribute to the Carlton Club, but it is impossible to be presented with at! 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