Happy Birthday!

Winston Churchill was born of November 30, 1874 at Blenheim palace. He grew up to become a giant in world politics. By the close of his political career, he was recognized by many people as the most revered statesman on the globe. On his eightieth birthday, in 1954, parliament awarded him a portrait of himself painted by the revered portrait painter, Graham Sutherland, in gratitude of his years of service.

Sutherland's Portrait of Churchill
Sutherland's paintings were rather controversial at the time, for their earth-toned color schemes and smudgy, slightly Rembrandt-esque look gave them an appearance that greatly differed from the crisp, formal appearance of traditional portraits. Parliament, however, was willing to take the risk; this was a terrible decision. When Sutherland finished, it was obvious that the portrait was a total failure. The painting depicted Churchill as old, feeble, and weak, and the quality of the work was also terrible. For some reason, Churchill had no feet in the painting, and the background that Sutherland painted behind him was a dull brown. Still, parliament had pooled their money and spent 1,000 guineas for the portrait, so there was nothing to do but award it to the former PM. When presented with the portrait, Churchill humorously commented, "A remarkable example of modern art!" Luckily, he gave a short but sincere speech on his gratitude to Parliament, and this (and a large birthday cake, as well as a book signed by most members of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords) seemed to save the day... but not for everyone.

Clementine (called "Clemmie" by those who knew her) Churchill couldn't bear the thought of Churchill being remembered by a painting that, in her words, made him look "half-witted." She vehemently promised him that “it would never see the light of day.” In 1978, it was discovered that with the help of one of her friends and her brother, Clemmie secretly burnt the painting. Only a few photographs of it survived. At least Parliament learned a valuable lesson: never award a distinguished politician a portrait painted in the "modern" style.



Watch this wonderful 1954 newscast for more information about Churchill's 80th birthday celebration:


Sources:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/winston-churchill/11730850/Secret-of-Winston-Churchills-unpopular-Sutherland-portrait-revealed.html

https://winstonchurchill.org/publications/finest-hour/finest-hour-148/the-1954-sutherland-portrait/

https://www.wikiart.org/en/graham-sutherland/winston-churchill-1954-1

http://thetallskinnylattephilosopher.com/sutherlands-churchill/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=276&v=QqclickG4NM&feature=emb_logo

Comments

  1. Abigial RoseDecember 2, 2019 at 10:03 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Meredith LairdDecember 3, 2019 at 8:01 PM

    Thank you, Ernest T. I must say, for someone who only got a week's worth of education, you are doing pretty well.

    ReplyDelete

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