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Sir Winston Churchill, and Walter Sickert.

Sir Winston Churchill, and Walter Sickert. Three glass plate negatives of photographs taken at Chartwell, 29 August 1927: i) Group portrait of nine figures seated around the dining table at Chartwell including the Churchill family and Walter Sickert, photographed by Churchill's private secretary Donald Ferguson on 29 August 1927, the image used as as the basis for Churchill's painting 'Tea at Chartwell', 120 x 165mm ii) Winston Churchill seated in his study at Chartwell, smoking a cigar and looking direct to camera, probably on 29 August 1927, probably photographed by Sickert, the image used as the basis for Sickert's portrait of Churchill, 120 x 165mm iii) Variant of (ii) with Churchill looking to his right, 120 x 165mm PHOTOGRAPHIC NEGATIVES THAT WERE USED AS THE BASIS FOR TWO FAMOUS PAINTINGS. On 29 August 1927 Churchill, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, was hosting at Chartwell with the painter Walter Sickert amongst his guests. Sickert was a longstanding family acquaintance of Clemmie, and he had also known Eddie Marsh since the 1890s. By 1927 Sickert was also close to Winston Churchill; he gave Churchill painting lessons that notably improved his style, and also introduced him to new techniques such as the use of photographs as guides for painting. Churchill's enthusiasm was expressed in a letter to his wife, written just after a visit by Sickert: "I am really thrilled by the field he is opening to me. I see my way to paint far better pictures than I ever thought possible before. He is really giving me a new lease of life as a painter." (Winston to Clementine Churchill, 26 September 1927) Churchill's secretary took a photograph of the group that was gathered at Chartwell: along with Churchill and Sickert, this included Clemmie, their son Randolph and daughter Diana, his close friends and advisors Eddie Marsh and Frederick Lindmann, Sickert's wife the artist Thérèse Lessore, and Clemmie's cousin Diana Mitford. Churchill subsequently had this glass plate negative of the photographic image projected onto a canvas to guide his brush. The resultant painting, entitled 'Tea at Chartwell', remains in the collection at Chartwell House. The current group also includes two similar glass-plate negatives of Churchill smoking in his study that were taken, presumably by Sickert or at least at his instigation, to be the source of a painting. It is overwhelmingly likely that they were taken on the same day as Churchill is in the same clothes, including a distinctive pair of spats. It is also likely that two slightly different photos were taken so that Sickert would have two different angles of Churchill's head from which to work. Churchill's posture, the position of the cigar in his hand, and his clothing, are all identical to Sickert's famous informal portrait of Churchill that is now in the National Portrait Gallery (NPG 4438). Sickert's portrait won widespread praise when it was exhibited at the Savile Gallery in 1928, and remains one of the most penetrating images of Churchill, but its somewhat louche representation of its subject was not appreciated by everyone (including Churchill himself). The current retrospective of Churchill's artwork at the Wallace Collection is a salutary reminder that painting was an important aspect of Churchill's rich and complex life. THESE NEGATIVES ARE A UNIQUE SURVIVING RELIC OF A CREATIVE MOMENT THAT BROUGHT TOGETHER CHURCHILL AND WALTER SICKERT, AND REVEAL THE INTERCONNECTION BETWEEN TWO PAINTINGS THAT BEGAN LIFE ON THE SAME DAY. PROVENANCE Grace Hamblin, OBE (1908-2002), private secretary to Sir Winston and Lady Churchill and the first administrator at Chartwell; acquired in the 1990s by the noted Churchill collector Major Alan Taylor Smith (1928-2019)

View 1 of Lot 56: Winston Churchill and Walter Sickert | Glass plate negatives used as guides for painting, 1927

winston churchill and walter sickert | glass plate negatives used as guides for painting, 1927

<a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Subject=Fine%2520bindings" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Finely bound</a> collection the <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first British Edition</a> of Churchill's speeches.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 12 volumes.</li><li>Winston Churchill (English).</li><li>Collection of His Speeches: Into Battle, The Unrelenting Struggle, The End of the Beginning, Onwards to Victory, The Dawn of Liberation, Secret Session Speeches, Victory, The Sinews of Peace, Europe Unite, In the Balance, Stemming the Tide, The Unwritten Alliance.</li><li>London:&nbsp;Cassell,&nbsp;1941–1961.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>Full modern navy crushed morocco with gilt, raised bands, lion emblems, teg. A few volumes with very light spotting, otherwise fine.</li></ul> A finely-bound collection of Churchill's separately published World War II and Post-War speeches, including his rare last book. The war speeches, published between 1941 and 1946, "constitute a contemporary history of the war with is as lively as it is authoritative...they may be said to be the last word upon the war" (Randolph Churchill). The post-war speeches trace his calls for European Unity during the beginning of the Cold War era. Finally, this set contains the rare first and only printing of the last book printed in his lifetime, The Unwritten Alliance.

Collection of His Speeches | First British Editions

Finely bound set of first editions of The Life of Winston Churchill; the first two volumes are by Randolph S. Churchill, continued after his death in 1968 by Martin Gilbert, a researcher for Randolph Churchill who was then appointed official biographer.<ul><li>Randolph Churchill (English).</li><li>Continued by Martin Gilbert (English).&nbsp;</li><li>London: Heinemann, 1966–88.</li><li>Includes a color frontispiece to volume VIII, illustrated with numerous maps, half-tone illustrations and fold-out plates.</li><li>Bound in fine full dark blue morocco, ribbed gilt decorated spine, covers ruled in gilt, gilt signature of Churchill to front cover, gilt dentelles, marbled pastedowns and endpapers, all edges gilt, by Sangorski &amp; Sutcliffe/Zaehnsdorf.</li></ul>

The Life of Winston Churchill

American First Edition of Churchill's A History of the English Speaking Peoples in presentation bindings.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 4.</li><li>Winston Churchill (English).</li><li>Volume I: The Birth of Britain; Volume II: The New World; Volume III: The&nbsp;Age of Revolution; Volume IV: The Great Democracies.</li><li>New York:&nbsp;Dodd, Mead,&nbsp;1956; 1956; 1957; 1958.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>Bound in publisher’s presentation binding of full blue morocco, upper covers with red morocco onlay stamped gilt lion rampant, spines lettered in gilt, each with 2 ornaments of red and gilt morocco onlays, turn-ins with double gilt fillets, top edges gilt, by the Kingsport Press.</li></ul>

A History of the English Speaking Peoples

Inscribed UK first editions, and first printings of the Life Of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=winston%20churchill&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Winston S. Churchill</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 8 volumes.</li><li>Randolph S. Churchill (English).</li><li>Martin Gilbert (English).</li><li>Life Of Winston S. Churchill [youth 1874-1900, Young Statesman 1901-1914, Volume III 1914-1916, Volume IV 1917-1922, Volume V 1922-1939, Finest Hour 1939-1941, Road To Victory 1941-1945, Never Despair 1945-1965.</li><li>London:&nbsp;Heinemann,&nbsp;1966-1988.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>Volumes 1 and 2 signed by Randolph Churchill, Volumes 3-8 signed by Martin Gilbert.</li><li>Volume 1 is inscribed stating "Inscribed by" signed by Randolph S. Churchill on half-title page.</li><li>Volume 2 is inscribed stating "Bobby from" signed Randolph on half-title page, dated "6 Sep 67 -".</li><li>Volumes, 3, 7, and 8 are signed flat by Martin Gilbert on title pages.</li><li>Volumes 4 and 5 are signed flat by Martin Gilbert on front end-page.</li><li>Volume 6 is inscribed stating "Inscribed by the author, to R. G. McLeod with all good wishes -" signed Martin Gilbert on front end-page, dated "15th July 1983". Volume 1 contains a frontispiece black and white photo captioned "Second Lieutenant Winston S. Churchill 4th Hussars 1895" and a thin paper family tree between page 608 and rear end-page.</li><li>Volume 2 contains a frontispiece with a black and white photo captioned "Winston Spencer Churchill in 1904".</li><li>Volume 3 contains a frontispiece with a black and white photo captioned "Churchill in April 1916, when Lieutenant-Colonel, commanding the 6th Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers.</li><li>Volume 4 contains a frontispiece black and white photo captioned "Churchill at Lille, 28 October 1918".</li><li>Volume 5 contains a frontispiece black and white photo captioned "Churchill in 1938".</li><li>Volume 1 has a dark blue spine with white, light blue, and red lettering.</li><li>Volume 2 has a dark green spine with white, light blue, and red lettering.</li><li>Volume 3 has a purple spine with white, grey, ad brown lettering.</li><li>Volume 4 has a brick red spine with white, blue-grey, and gold lettering.</li><li>Volume 5 has a dark green spine with white, light grey, and brown-orange lettering.</li><li>Volumes 6, 7, and 8 have a black spine with white lettering.</li><li>Dust jackets are all wrapped in mylar coverings.</li></ul>

Life Of Winston S. Churchill

Finely bound first-edition set of Churchill's biography, the first two are by Randolph S. Churchill, continued after his death in 1968 by Martin Gilbert, a researcher for Randolph Churchill who was then appointed official biographer.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 8.</li><li>Randolph S. Churchill (English).</li><li>Completed by Martin Gilbert (English).</li><li>London: Heinemann, 1966–88.</li><li>Includes a color frontispiece to volume VIII, illustrated with numerous maps, half-tone illustrations, and foldout plates.</li><li>Bound in half red morocco, ribbed gilt decorated spines, gilt lion to center panels, top edges gilt.</li></ul>

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a> of War Speeches by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Winston+Churchill&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Winston Churchill</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 7 volumes.</li><li>Winston Churchill (English).</li><li>London, Toronto, Melbourne, Sydney:&nbsp;Cassell and Company, Ltd.,&nbsp;1941.</li><li>Facsimile photograph frontispiece.</li><li>All edges gilt, raised bands on spine, bound in full navy blue Morocco leather, gilt borders on covers.</li></ul>

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