Portrait of Winston Churchill (Sutherland)

Portrait of Winston Churchill (1954) by Graham Sutherland

The Portrait of Winston Churchill was a painting by English artist Graham Sutherland that depicted the British prime minister Sir Winston Churchill, created in 1954. It was disliked by Churchill and within a year it had been destroyed.

In 1954 Sutherland was commissioned to paint a full-length portrait of Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill. Sutherland received 1,000 guineas[a] in compensation for the painting, a sum funded by donations from members of the House of Commons and House of Lords.[2] The painting was presented to Churchill by both Houses of Parliament at a public ceremony in Westminster Hall on his 80th birthday on 30 November 1954.[3]

Finding the depiction deeply unflattering, Churchill disliked the portrait intensely. After its public presentation, the painting was taken to his country home at Chartwell but not displayed. For a long time it was assumed that it was destroyed by Lady Spencer-Churchill; however, in the course of research for a biography of Churchill, audio recordings were cited that attribute the destruction to Grace Hamblin, Churchill's private secretary. According to this, the painting was taken by her and her brother to a secluded house and burned. Clementine Churchill learned of the deed the next morning and approved.[4]

  1. ^ Questions in the House of Commons at theyworkforyou.com: retrieved 22 July 2020
  2. ^ "An Introduction to Graham Sutherland's Portrait of Sir Winston Churchill". galleryoflostart.com. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012.
  3. ^ "1954: Winston Churchill turns 80". On This Day, 30 November 1954. BBC.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference tele was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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