SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL, K.G., O.M., F.R.S., HON. R.A. | Marrakech

The Studio, Chartwell
Sarah, Lady Audley
Wilfred M. De Freitas, Montreal, where acquired by the present owner in the 1980s

London, Wylma Wayne Fine Art, Sir Winston Churchill 1874-1965, 24th June - 30th July 1982, cat. no.19, illustrated p.18.

David Coombs, Churchill: His Paintings, Hamish Hamilton, London, 1967, cat. no.127, illustrated p.131;
David Coombs and Minnie S. Churchill, Sir Winston Churchill His Life and His Paintings, Ware House Publishing, Lyme Regis, 2011, cat. no.127, illustrated p.169. 

The canvas has been laid onto a board, and both canvas and board appear sound. There is a slight imperfection to the board at the extreme right edge at centre. There are a few small and minor vertical lines of cracking at the extreme upper edge to the right with historic and associated loss, with further small areas of craquelure with associated loss in the yellow pigment just below centre, to the upper left corner and to the greenery just below centre at the right edge, with one or two possible further instances elsewhere. There are scattered small flecks of dirt and surface matter, particularly visible to the right side of the work, with some studio detritus elsewhere. Subject to the above, the work appears in very good overall condition. Inspection under ultraviolet reveals fluorescence and probable retouching at intervals to the edges with some further areas to the upper right and lower left of the sky with one or two possible areas elsewhere. These have been sensitively executed. The work is held within a canvas slip in a carved gilt frame. Please telephone the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"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."

We are grateful to David Coombs for his kind assistance with the cataloguing of the present work.

‘…let me say a word on painting as a spur to travel. There is really nothing like it… Every country where the sun shines and every district in it, has a theme of its own… the painter wanders and loiters contentedly from place to place, always on the look out for some brilliant butterfly of a picture which can be caught and set up and carried safely home.’ (Winston Churchill, 1921, quoted in David Coombs and Minnie S. Churchill, Sir Winston Churchill His Life and His Paintings, Ware House Publishing, Lyme Regis, 2011, p.86).

Marrakech was one of Churchill’s favourite winter painting locations. Fascinated by the exotic, desert landscape and the variety of subjects that presented themselves, as well as the climate, colour and light, Churchill’s Moroccan paintings can be counted amongst the most successful works that he ever produced.

Churchill had first written of his love for Morocco in a 1936 article for The Daily Mail. Here he recounted how quickly he had fallen under the spell of what was then a French colony: 'Morocco was to me a revelation. Reading about the Moroccan question in the newspapers or official documents affords not the slightest impression of the charm and value of this splendid territory.' Later in the same article he confessed himself 'captivated by Marrakech. Here in these spacious palm groves rising from the desert the traveller can be sure of perennial sunshine, of every comfort and diversion, and can contemplate with ceaseless satisfaction the stately and snow-clad panorama of the Atlas Mountains. The sun is brilliant and warm but not scorching; the air crisp, bracing but without being chilly; the days bright, the nights cool and fresh.'

Such was the draw of Morocco as a painting location that Churchill was prompted to attempt his one and only war-time painting here in the immediate aftermath of the Casablanca Conference of 1943 (Tower of the Katoubia Mosque, Private Collection). Following the ten-day conference Roosevelt was intent on returning immediately to America while Churchill planned to spend a few days in Marrakech before continuing his month-long tour of the Middle East. Eager that his friend and fellow statesman should accompany him to the 'Paris of the Sahara', Churchill pleaded, 'You cannot come all this way to North Africa without seeing Marrakech... Let us spend two days there. I must be with you when you see the sun set on the Atlas Mountains' (Churchill, 1959, The Second World War, Pimlico, London, 2002, p.650). Soon after their arrival Churchill insisted that Roosevelt accompany him up the tower of the villa to look over Marrakech as the sun went down. Roosevelt was lifted from his wheelchair and carried up the winding stairs to the roof-top. Reclining on a divan the American was so taken by the scene he said to Churchill, 'I feel like a sultan: you may kiss my hand, my dear.' In his diary Churchill's doctor recorded, 'We stood gazing at the purple hills, where the light was changing every minute. "It's the most lovely spot in the world" the PM murmured' (quoted in Celia Sandys, Chasing Churchill: The Travels of Winston Churchill, Harper Collins, London, 2003, p.106).