Sir Winston Churchill, K.G., O.M., F.R.S., HON. R.A.

The Studio, Chartwell
Sarah Lady Audley
Wylma Wayne Fine Art, London, where acquired by the present owner, 27th August 1982

London, Wylma Wayne Fine Art, Sir Winston Churchill: Exhibition of Paintings, 24th June - 30th July 1982, cat. no.21.

David Coombs, Churchill: His Paintings, Hamish Hamilton, London, 1967, cat. no.129, illustrated p.132;
David Coombs and Minnie S. Churchill, Sir Winston Churchill's Life Through His Paintings, Chaucer Press, London, 2003, cat. no.C129, illustrated fig.169;
David Coombs and Minnie S. Churchill, Sir Winston Churchill His Life and His Paintings, Ware House Publishing, Lyme Regis, 2011, cat. no.C129, illustrated fig.169.

The panel is very slightly warped, but appears sound and stable. There are some very minor lines of craquelure apparent to the maroon pigment in the lower left corner, with one or two tiny flecks of associated loss. There is a very small line of cracking apparent to the purple pigment towards the left side of the lower edge, visible upon very close inspection, and thought to possibly be as a result of the wooden panel beneath. There is a small inherent knot to the panel in the centre of the sky. There are one or two traces of surface dirt, but subject to the above the work appears to be in very good overall condition. There is an unfinished sketch of a landscape on the reverse of the panel. Ultraviolet light reveals some areas of fluorescence, but these are thought to be in keeping with the Artist's materials, and not indicative of retouching. The work is presented in an ornate moulded frame, with a linen slip. Please telephone the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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We are grateful to David Coombs for his kind assistance with the cataloguing of the present work.

Winston Churchill first took up a brush in 1915, while he and his family were enjoying a much needed retreat from London in the Surrey countryside. It was the summer after the so called Dardanelles disaster, and Churchill was in the midst of a deep depression, feeling that at the age of 40 his political career was all but over.  It was during this visit that he noticed his sister-in-law Gwendoline painting the gardens in watercolour and she encouraged him to take up a brush.  While Churchill did not take to the watercolour medium, he was intrigued by the process and oils and brushes were immediately dispatched for. The serendipitous arrival of Hazel Lavery, the wife of the painter John Lavery and an artist herself, encouraged Churchill in his endeavours and he embarked upon what would become a lifelong passion.

Churchill quickly became devoted to his new pastime, taking his paints and brushes with him on holiday, to visits with friends and setting up in his garden at home whenever there was a spare moment.  For Churchill, painting required a set of precise yet intuitive skills that exercised a totally different part of his mind from that used for the cut and thrust of national politics.  It was the challenge and difficulty of capturing satisfactorily the scene before him which proved such a tonic to his mind. He wrote eloquently about the nature of such engrossing hobbies in 1925 around the time the present work was painted:

‘A man can wear out a particular part of his mind by continually using it and tiring it, just in the same way as he can wear out the elbows of his coat. There is, however, this difference between the living cells of the brain and the inanimate articles: one cannot mend the frayed elbows of a coat by rubbing the sleeves or shoulders; but the tired part of the mind can be rested and strengthened, not merely by rest, but by using other parts. It is not enough to merely switch off the lights which play upon the main and ordinary field of interest; a new field of interest must be illuminated. It is no use saying to the tired “mental muscles” – if one can coin such an expression- “I will give you a good rest”, “I will go for a long walk” or “I will lie down and think of nothing”. The mind keeps busy just the same. If it has been weighing and measuring, it goes on weighing and measuring. If it has been worrying, it goes on worrying. It is only when new cells are called into activity, when new stars become the lords of the ascendant, that relief, repose, refreshment are afforded’ (Winston Churchill, ‘Hobbies’, Nash’s Pall Mall Magazine, 1925, reproduced in David Coombs and Minnie S. Churchill, Sir Winston Churchill His Life and His Paintings, Ware House Publishing, Lyme Regis, 2011, p.93).

From the outset Churchill sought to learn as much as possible about painting technique to improve his burgeoning skills. He benefitted from knowing some of the greatest artists of the day, including, as mentioned previously, the great portraitist Sir John Lavery, but also Walter Richard Sickert and William Nicholson,  who bestowed upon Churchill a great deal of wisdom and advice. Churchill also sought to study from those artists he admired, travelling to Paris with the artist Charles Montag to see the French Impressionists, and also copying the works of the great masters in order to apply their techniques. He would borrow paintings from friends such as Sir Philip Sassoon for such purposes or, as in the present work, use what was on hand. Seascape is a copy of a 19^th Century Dutch seascape that Churchill had hanging in his study at Chartwell. He produced two versions of the composition, and the other is in the Government Art Collection.