Sir Winston Churchill, K.G., O.M., F.R.S., HON. R.A.

Lady Spencer-Churchill
Sarah Lady Audley
Sale, Sotheby's, New York, 15 May 1985, lot 375, whence purchased by the previous owner

David Coombs with Minnie Churchill, Sir Winston Churchill's Life Through His Paintings, Chaucer Press, London, 2003, C249, p.180, fig.364, illustrated in colour.

The canvas is unlined. There are three lines of indentation across the paint surface which correspond with lines on the back where the canvas appears to have been folded. There are scattered areas of very light craquelure, specifically along the lines of indentation mentioned above. Areas of dirt have gathered on the paint surface. Examination under ultra-violet light reveals a tiny spot of fluorescence in the lower right quadrant which may be retouching. Otherwise the work is in good overall condition. Held in a gold painted wooden decorative frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

To be sold with a letter of authentification from Sarah Lady Audley.

Executed circa 1930, the present work was painted at St Georges-Motel near Dreux, Normandy. The Chateau St Georges-Motel was the summer home of Consuelo and her husband Jacques Balsan, a record breaking and pioneering French balloon, airplane and hydroplane pilot who once worked with the Wright brothers. Consuelo, one of the American Vanderbilts, was previously married to Churchill's cousin, Sunny, Duke of Marlborough and after her divorce and re-marriage she remained close to several members of the family including Churchill himself. She recalled that during her time with Jacques at the Chateau St Georges-Motel, 'we were privileged to become hosts to a number of friends to whom we lent small houses on the estate. This group of artists, musicians and writers centred around Paul Maze..an artist not only in oils and pastels, but also in his truely Bohemian mode of life..' (Balsan, as quoted in Coombs, op.cit, p.148).

The French artist Paul Maze first met Churchill in 1916 and became both a good friend and a prinicipal artistic influence on him. The two painted together on a number of occasions and Maze had a studio in the Chateau St Georges-Motel's mill, the Moulin de Montreuil. Churchill's last painting trip before the Second World War was with Maze at the Chateau in August 1939 when Maze noted in his diary on 27th August that Churchill had remarked, 'this is the last picture we shall paint in peace for a very long time' (Maze, quoted in Coombs, op.cit., p.155). 

The vibrant subject of a village fete provided Churchill with an ideal opportunity to demonstrate his fluid handling and, in the combination of representing an energetic crowd as well as the effect of moving water in the foreground, his attention to detail. Indeed, Consuelo Balsan remembered that when 'Winston decided he wanted to paint our moat, after careful thought he made up his mind that he preferred the water rough to smooth. Sending to Dreux for a photographer, he placed two gardeners in a boat and told them to create ripples with their oars..With charateristic thoroughness Winston persisted until all possibilities had been exhausted..' (Balsan, quoted in Coombs, op.cit., p.148).