A typed letter signed by Winston S. Churchill, dated 8 March 1961, concerning the selection of paintings for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.
CHURCHILL ON PAINTING AND THE ROYAL ACADEMY SUMMER EXHIBITION
Written to Sir Charles Wheeler following his visit to Chartwell, Churchill expresses his appreciation for Wheeler’s advice on which works might be submitted. With characteristic candour, he explains that one of the paintings admired—thought to resemble a work by the French landscape painter Charles-François Daubigny—was in fact a copy he had made himself, and therefore unsuitable for exhibition:
“I now find that the one you thought resembled a Daubigny was indeed a copy I made of a Daubigny, and I fear it would not thus be suitable for the Summer Exhibition.”
He proposes instead submitting the remaining two paintings selected by Wheeler and suggests that a third work might be located at Chartwell with the assistance of his staff.
Churchill began painting in 1915 and remained deeply committed to the practice throughout his life. In 1948, he was elected an Honorary Academician Extraordinary of the Royal Academy, after which his works were regularly exhibited at the Summer Exhibition. By 1961, the year of this letter, his paintings—often depicting scenes at Chartwell—were widely recognized as an integral part of his personal and creative life.
The present letter, written late in Churchill’s life, reflects both his enduring dedication to painting and his conscientious approach to exhibiting his work. His reluctance to submit a copied painting underscores a clear sense of artistic integrity, even within the context of his status as a distinguished amateur.
Description (Physical)
Single sheet (241 × 191 mm), typed on the printed letterhead of Churchill’s residence at 28 Hyde Park Gate, London, signed in blue ink. Minor paperclip impression at the head and light handling creases; overall in excellent condition.
Provenance
Paul C. Richards, Templeton, Massachusetts, 1984 (with original slip noting Item 109).
Possibly from a group of letters from Churchill to Wheeler sold at Christie’s, 28 March 1984, lot 32.
A typed letter signed by Winston S. Churchill, dated 8 March 1961, concerning the selection of paintings for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.
CHURCHILL ON PAINTING AND THE ROYAL ACADEMY SUMMER EXHIBITION
Written to Sir Charles Wheeler following his visit to Chartwell, Churchill expresses his appreciation for Wheeler’s advice on which works might be submitted. With characteristic candour, he explains that one of the paintings admired—thought to resemble a work by the French landscape painter Charles-François Daubigny—was in fact a copy he had made himself, and therefore unsuitable for exhibition:
“I now find that the one you thought resembled a Daubigny was indeed a copy I made of a Daubigny, and I fear it would not thus be suitable for the Summer Exhibition.”
He proposes instead submitting the remaining two paintings selected by Wheeler and suggests that a third work might be located at Chartwell with the assistance of his staff.
Churchill began painting in 1915 and remained deeply committed to the practice throughout his life. In 1948, he was elected an Honorary Academician Extraordinary of the Royal Academy, after which his works were regularly exhibited at the Summer Exhibition. By 1961, the year of this letter, his paintings—often depicting scenes at Chartwell—were widely recognized as an integral part of his personal and creative life.
The present letter, written late in Churchill’s life, reflects both his enduring dedication to painting and his conscientious approach to exhibiting his work. His reluctance to submit a copied painting underscores a clear sense of artistic integrity, even within the context of his status as a distinguished amateur.
Description (Physical)
Single sheet (241 × 191 mm), typed on the printed letterhead of Churchill’s residence at 28 Hyde Park Gate, London, signed in blue ink. Minor paperclip impression at the head and light handling creases; overall in excellent condition.
Provenance
Paul C. Richards, Templeton, Massachusetts, 1984 (with original slip noting Item 109).
Possibly from a group of letters from Churchill to Wheeler sold at Christie’s, 28 March 1984, lot 32.
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