Art & The Churchill Family Exhibition

About

10 February – 22 April 2019

 Winston Spencer Churchill, born at Blenheim Palace in 1874, always held a special affection for his birthplace and was a regular visitor to the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A lover of art and talented artist, Churchill spent much time painting the vistas of the Palace, along with inspiring places that he visited during his lifetime.

In 2019, visitors have a unique opportunity to view a collection of Churchill’s original paintings that will be on display in the Long Library.

The main works are oil on canvas impressionist inspired landscapes, painted whilst Churchill was on holiday in the South of France and Morocco. Works include: ‘Marrakech’, ‘Coast Scene on the Riviera’ and ‘Boat in Cannes Harbour’.

“Painting came to my rescue in a most trying time,” Churchill would later write in the 1920s, in essays that would become a small book, Painting as a Pastime.

The hobby became, for the great British statesman, a source of delight and a respite from the stress of his career.

He would eventually create over 550 paintings, crediting the practice with helping him to hone his visual acuity, powers of observation, and memory.

The pastime would flourish, and perhaps even aid him, as he furthered his career as a world-renowned writer, orator, and political leader.

 

Churchill and Blenheim Palace

30 November 1874 - Born at Blenheim Palace. Son of Lord and Lady Randolph Churchill.

11 August 1908 - Proposes to Clementine Hozier in the Temple of Diana, Blenheim Palace during a summer storm.

24 January 1965 - Dies at the age of 90. Following State Funeral he is buried at St Martin’s Churchyard in Bladon, within sight of Blenheim Palace.