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

The Artist and thence by descent to his daughter Mary

London, Wylma Wayne Fine Art, Sir Winston Churchill: Exhibition of Paintings, 24th June - 30th July 1982, cat. no.26, illustrated.

David Coombs, Churchill: His Paintings, Hamish Hamilton, London, 1967, cat. no.184, illustrated p.150;
David Coombs and Minnie S. Churchill, Sir Winston Churchill's Life through his Paintings, Chaucer Press, London, 2003, cat. no.C184, illustrated p.66;  
David Coombs and Minnie S. Churchill, Sir Winston Churchill His Life and His Paintings, Ware House Publishing, Lyme Regis, 2011, cat. no.C184, illustrated p.66.

Original canvas. There is a faint stretcher bar mark along the upper edge of the composition and a convex pressure mark in the lower right corner of the canvas. On close examination there are some small areas of paint loss across the composition, including but not limited to, an area approximately 5mm by 2mm in the table leg at the lower right of the composition, three small spots in the upper left corner, one in the extreme lower left corner, one to the left of the lamp, and two flecks in the blue pigment above the carpet. There are two light scratches in the paint surface at the upper and lower right corners of the composition and some minor surface dirt in areas across the paint surface. There is evidence of frame abrasion in the lower corner. Subject to the above the work appears to be in good condition. Ultraviolet light reveals a varnish layer and a very small area of florescence at the upper right corner of the canvas. The picture is presented in a painted gold wooden frame. Please contact the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
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We are grateful to David Coombs for his kind assistance with the cataloguing of the present work.

‘[It] is not the memory of lean times that springs to my mind on looking back. Much more I recall the spaciousness of our life; the comfort and prettiness of the rooms; the masses of flowers (always clear, soft colours, and always arranged with great simplicity); the crackling log fires, and the delicious comfort of a warm, scented house on the bleak winter days. And in the summer, all the joys of life in the garden, voices calling up from the tennis court, long happy hours by the swimming-pool, and tea in the loggia with strawberries and cream’ (Mary Soames recalling life at Chartwell, Clementine Churchill, Random House, London, 2002, p.263).

Life at Chartwell, during the nearly 40 years that Winston and Clementine counted it as their family home, was characterised by a vibrancy and vitality, an overall liveliness, part of which was due to the frequency with which they generously opened their home to guests. The visitor book records that they were rarely without company on the weekend, although as Winston’s schedule of working through the mornings was not to be interrupted, a good deal of the entertaining during the day was left to Clementine. Visiting parties and family would convene over meals, which were the real highlight of such visits, over which topics as various as politics, art, philosophy, history and science, were debated with fervour.

The most frequent guests at Chartwell were members of the extended family, from Winston’s beloved brother Jack and his wife Lady Gwendoline, better known as ‘Goonie,’ to Clementine’s sister Nellie Romilly and her family. Political notables of the day also made regular appearances, often driving down from London for lunch, including Max Beaverbrook and David Lloyd George. Two figures who made such habitual visits that they nearly counted as family were Winston’s close friend Frederick Alexander Lindemann, a scientist and advisor known to the family as ‘The Prof’, and Sir Edward Howard Marsh better known as ‘Eddie,’ Winston’s devoted Private Secretary and important patron of the arts. The home also saw the major luminaries of the day pass through its doors, including T.E. Lawrence, Charlie Chaplin, Albert Einstein, Tilly Losch, and Ethel Barrymore.

This expectation of regular visitors, and the importance of having a home which could accommodate their friends and relatives, was a consideration from very early on in the planning stages when the couple began working to modernise and expand the home with architect Philip Tilden. Clementine wrote to Winston that, if the plans came to fruition, they would ‘have ample living accommodation for ourselves & our potential 5 or 6 guests. We each of us have our private sitting-room, the children have Day Nursery & Schoolroom, there is an office for business, and for the entertainment of the few guests there are two beautiful rooms, the Drawing-room & the Library…’ (Clementine, letter to Winston, 1^st February 1923, quoted in Mary Soames, Clementine Churchill, Random House, London, 2002, p.251).  

The Drawing Room was at the heart of this very social aspect of Chartwell life, and in the present painting, Winston expertly captures the cosy nature of the room, which was surely a delight for any visitors who spent time whiling away the hours with a book from the shelves, or enjoying tea in the afternoon. The interior is light and airy, adorned with the fresh flowers which Clementine always insisted upon, the sun pouring in through the large window which gives a delightful view of the gardens. Winston was a real lover of light, as so many painters are, and when he hired Tilden of primary importance to him was incorporating large windows throughout the home.