.
Dr Claire Walsh
tel: 01480 830 760
Winston Churchill, The Artist
In 1915 Churchill was rescued from depression by the ‘muse of painting’. Painting was the mainstay that enabled one of our greatest national leaders to achieve what he did. Churchill’s paintings record landscapes from the Riviera, to Blenheim, Chartwell and Marrakech. The most fascinating aspects of this exploration of a talent beyond the mere amateur is the role it played in his personal and political life, the restorative power of the process of painting, and the insight it allows us into the art of his age. Churchill took lessons from Lavery, Sickert and Nicholson, and the choices he made tell us much about the colour, texture and direction of art in the early-twentieth century.









Walter Sickert was a key influence on Churchill and gave him formal lessons. Above, Sickert's Venice and portrait of Churchill.


William Nicholson taught Churchill as well and was a good friend. Dover Cliffs and Breakfast at Chartwell, both by Nicholson.
Sir John Lavery also provided instruction. Lavery's image of Churchill painting, and his formal portrait of Churchill.
The Cote D'Azur by Churchill and, below, the drawing room at Chartwell.


