London: Britain's wartime Prime Minister
Sir Winston Churchill's first painting after the end of World
War II is up for sale for the first time and expected to fetch
up to 300,000 pounds at an auction in London.
Churchill created Villa on the Nivelle, during a brief
pause in British politics; after the general election on July
5, 1945, and before the result was announced on July 26 when
he was unexpectedly defeated by Labour Party.
The wartime Prime Minister had taken a short holiday
with his wife Clementine to the Basque region of France at the
Chateau de Bordaberry as the guest of French Brigadier-General
Brutinel, where he made the painting.
It will be sold at Christie's in London on May 26 and
can fetch upto 300,000 pounds, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported.
Despite being a keen artist Churchill painted only
once in almost five years from Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler's
invasion of Poland in September 1939 until the end of the war.
But, he was persuaded to take up his paintbrush
again by fellow chateau guest Margaret Nairn, the wife of the
British Consul in Bordeaux Bryce Nairn, who had previously
been a professional painter.
Historian Andrew Roberts said: "Painting was something
that he discovered at the time of the Dardanelles disaster
(also known as the Battle of Gallipoli) when he was at his
lowest ebb. It gave him solace.
"We are used to the adventurous side of Churchill.
This contemplative side of Churchill shows his multifarious
personality. It came as a surprise to him that he lost the
election. But he was determined to honour the will of the
electorate."
Churchill took up painting at the relatively late age
of 40. In 2007, a painting of his home, Chartwell Landscape
with Sheep, was sold for a record one million pounds.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, April 20, 2011, 08:51