Churchill paintings at Hilliard flesh out picture of complex man

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As prime minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Winston Churchill helped Allied Forces win World War II. When he wasn鈥檛 making history, Churchill made art, 500-plus paintings that led the Royal Academy of Arts to name him an Honorary Academician Extraordinary in 1948.

Of Churchill鈥檚 canvasses, the London daily newspaper 鈥淭he Telegraph鈥 in 2014 wrote that 鈥渢he great statesman was a sensitive, serious and accomplished artist鈥 who 鈥渨ell understood the complexities of form, perspective and composition.鈥

Art lovers 鈥 and history and military buffs 鈥 can assess a sampling of Churchill鈥檚 paintings for themselves at the Hilliard University Art Museum on the University of Louisiana at 青涩直播 campus. The 鈥淎rt of Sir Winston Churchill鈥 runs through March 21. The exhibit is organized by America鈥檚 National Churchill Museum at Westminster College in Fulton, Mo.

Churchill鈥檚 granddaughter, Emma Soames, joined University faculty members, historians and art experts who ushered in the recent opening of the exhibit during 鈥淐hurchill in Conflict and Culture: A Symposium.鈥 The Jan. 17 event at the LITE Center on the UL 青涩直播 campus was organized by the National WWII Museum in New Orleans.

鈥淚 had wrongly assumed that in popular culture the memory of Churchill and his works would be fading by now, more than 50 years after his death,鈥 Soames said during the symposium. 鈥淪o, it is wonderful that there is still such a desire to鈥ind that Hollywood and historians continue to burrow into the many extraordinary aspects of his life.鈥

One of those extraordinary aspects 鈥 Churchill鈥檚 painting 鈥 is often overlooked, a footnote to an extraordinary life, Tim Riley, director and chief curator of the National Churchill Museum at Westminster College, told symposium attendees.

鈥淲inston Churchill is well-known as a statesman, a leader, a military commander, a soldier. He鈥檚 not always known as an artist鈥ut an exhibition like this one allows us to take a deep dive into this lesser known part of a well-known man.鈥

Painting provided a respite from the burdens of office for Churchill throughout his long public service career. Dr. Keith Huxen, senior director of research and history at the National WWII Museum, said during the symposium that Churchill once told a friend: 鈥淚f it weren鈥檛 for painting, I couldn鈥檛 live. I couldn鈥檛 bear the strain of things.鈥

Churchill 鈥 who according to many biographies and accounts told boyhood classmate Sir Muirland Evans in 1891 that he would one day be a military commander and save England from disaster 鈥 couldn鈥檛 entirely forget about the battlefield, however, even standing at an easel.

Case in point: Dr. Allison Leigh, an assistant professor of art history at UL 青涩直播, referenced Churchill鈥檚 1921 essay 鈥淧ainting as a Pastime鈥 during the symposium. She said that 鈥渙ne of the first things that struck me in the text was (Churchill鈥檚) declaration that 鈥榩ainting a picture is like fighting a battle.鈥欌

Churchill further wrote: 鈥淚n all battles, two things are usually required of the commander in chief. To make a good plan for his army, and secondly, to keep a strong reserve. Both these are also obligatory upon the painter.鈥

Save for a cannon on a beach here, or a battleship there, Churchill largely avoided depicting the ugliness of war. Most of his work featured landscapes or seascapes, although he did some interior scenes and portraits. The artist, who favored bright, vivid colors, was influenced by Impressionists such as Monet.

Soames, however, said her grandfather drew the greatest inspiration from Chartwell, his home of almost 40 years in the countryside of Kent, near London. He spent leisure time, especially in his later years, painting on the bucolic grounds and in his studio at the sprawling estate.

鈥淐hartwell was captured by his brush in all seasons and in all its moods. Above all it was the view from Chartwell that I think inspired so much of what he did. He used to sit for hours as an old man as I remember him in his Stetson hat with cigar in hand looking out across the Weald of Kent,鈥 she said.

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Image credit: Sir Winston S. Churchill. Boats at Cannes Harbor, 1937. Oil on canvas. America鈥檚 National Churchill Museum. Gift of the New York State Chapter of the Friends of America鈥檚 National Churchill Museum. 漏 Churchill Heritage Ltd