![]() Why the disguise? Imperceptive critics attribute it to nervous ego on the part of a statesman to the fore in oratory, soldiery, and literature. For the Paris test of his ability he hid his identity under an assumed name: Charles Morin. Sheer delight accounted for Churchill's devotion. Making money, it has been well established, was not the incentive, then or ever. He sent five paintings to be exhibited in Paris in the 1920s. His masterly advocacy of the tank to counter the menace of the German machine-gun broke the trench warfare deadlock, and the tank proved historically invaluable during the vital combat at Cambrai.Įncouragement to persevere with his hobby stemmed from an amateur prize (his first) which he won for "Winter Sunshine, Chartwell," a bright reflection of his Kentish home. By 1917, he was back in office with the portfolio of Minister of Munitions. Awaiting embarkation for France, he had time to succumb to the lure of brush and palette. Relegated to the minor position of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, he soon resigned to join the army as a colonel. The First World War saw his political career in jeopardy with the 1915 failure of the Dardanelles expedition for which he was blamed. Larger ships must abandon coal and run on oil here was his answer to the growing threat from Germany. He was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty in 1911 at the age of thirty-six and insisted that the Royal Navy shake off the shackles of the 19th century. The erratic pendulum of politics afforded him the opportunity to verify that the attraction of painting was no mere infatuation. Without intending any insult, he put "la peinture 'a l'eau" in second place. Never again did he feel the slightest inhibition.Ĭharacteristically, Churchill's first word of advice to budding artists was "audacity." He was a strong proponent of oils. "But what are you hesitating about? Let me have a brush - the big one." She showed him that a brush was a weapon to subdue a blank, intimidating canvas by firing paint at it to dazzling effect. The novitiate was caught by the wife of Sir John Lavery (distinguished leader of the Glasgow school of painting) tentatively handling a small brush." Painting!" she exclaimed. Yet a sense of awe seemed to impose restraint. As he put it: ".experiments with a child's paint-box led me the next morning to produce a complete outfit in oils." Unfamiliarity with technique could not lessen his determination discipline - and lessons - would have to wait. He had found his other world - a respite from crowding events and pulsating politics. He enjoyed holding forth in speech and print on the aesthetic rewards for amateur devotees. His art quickly became half passion, half philosophy. Over a period of forty-eight years his creativity yielded more than 500 pictures. He possessed the heightened perception of the genuine artist to whom no scene is commonplace. The compositional challenge of depicting a landscape gave the heroic rebel in him temporary repose. ![]() The Artist Winston Churchill Half Passion, Half PhilosophyĬhurchill was forty before he discovered the pleasures of painting.
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