The Paintings of Sir Winston Churchill offers a unique opportunity to view paintings rarely seen in North America by the British statesman Winston Churchill (1874–1965), one of the most renowned—and many say greatest—wartime leaders of the twentieth century. Bringing together forty loans from preeminent public and private collections in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States—including the Royal Academy of Arts in London and Chartwell, the historic family estate in Kent, England—this exhibition surveys the full range of his art, from landscapes and seascapes to still lifes and portraits. Beginning with his earliest work in 1915, the paintings on view represent each of the five decades in which Churchill pursued what was for him the greatest of hobbies.
The Paintings of Sir Winston Churchill is a collaboration between the National Churchill Museum at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, and the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, part of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. It is presented in association with “Churchill 2015,” a worldwide commemoration of the life and legacy of Winston Churchill on the fiftieth anniversary of his death. It is curated by Timothy Riley, paintings curator for the National Churchill Museum.
This exhibition is made possible by the generous support of leadership sponsors Mr. and Mrs. Richard J. Mahoney as well as the J. M. Kaplan Fund and corporate supporter Edward Jones, with additional support from partner sponsors Mr. and Mrs. Stephen F. Brauer, the Allen P. and Josephine B. Green Foundation, and Mr. and Mrs. Earle H. Harbison Jr.; contributing sponsors Mr. and Mrs. John W. Bachmann, The St. Louis Trust Company, and Dr. and Mrs. Robert L. Virgil; and associate sponsors Suzanne and David Richardson and Mark S. and Risa Zwerling Wrighton. It is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
Educator resources
Resources for educators are available through the links provided below.
Biography of Sir Winston Churchill
"Finest Hours: The Making of Winston Churchill"
Many of Churchill’s most famous speeches are available on YouTube:
Image credit
Previous page: Detail of Flat Calm on a High-prowed Boat, c. 1925. Oil on canvas, 23 1/2 x 32". Private collection. © Churchill Heritage Ltd.