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Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Winston Churchill—Plein Air Painter


Sir Winston Churchill at Work


By now, most of us plein air painters have heard that Sir Winston Churchill, the twice-Prime Minister of England who steered that country through World War II, was also an avid outdoor painter. I don't remember when I first learned of his hobby. I did get a copy of his little book, Painting as a Pastime, several years ago.

Recently, I started watching The Crown, Netflix's serial bio-pic on Queen Elizabeth II. The first season shows Churchill, played admirably by John Lithgow, pursuing his hobby whenever possible. He was about as serious as an amateur can get without taking that final step of "going pro."



The series renewed my interest in Churchill. While doing some research, I discovered another book, Winston Churchill: His Life as a Painter. It's a memoir written by his daughter, Mary Soames, and published in 1990. Although the book focuses on Churchill's activities as a painter, both outdoor and studio, the setting is that of world events. I was intrigued to learn that he was such a dedicated painter that he even took his paintbox out to the battlefield. He found a few moments when the shells weren't whistling overhead to paint a sketch or two.

By the way, although he started off painting from life, early on he learned the advantages of using photographs as a reference. He also projected lantern slides and traced them, especially for portraits and buildings, where accuracy in drawing is critical:
Having discovered painting in the middle age of a crowded life, he was loath to spend precious time mastering draughtsmanship, and in the lantern and slides he had found a sensible short-cut which greatly helped him. ... But he never became rigidly tied to photographic methods; he simply employed them as useful aids. My chief memories are of him at his easel, painting directly on the canvas.

The book includes many paintings by Churchill. The reader can see how his painting skills improved over time. Some of this is thanks to studying with painters such as Walter Sickert, but—and my students should appreciate this—also through dedicated practice. I've included below one of my favorite paintings.

The book is out of print, of course, but you can find used copies on Amazon.

"On the Var, South of France" 1935 by Winston S. Churchill