“When he’s very good, he’s very, very good, but sometimes, he’s horrid. David Coombs, who co-authored the book Sir Winston Churchill: His Life and His Paintings , offered a more even-handed assessment . “If Churchill had given the time to art that he has given to politics, he would have been by all odds the world’s greatest painter.” Of course, Birley was also regularly employed by Churchill, so you might want to take that statement with a grain of salt. So how good was he? Noted English artist and royal portraitist Sir Oswald Birley quite impressed by the Prime Minister’s abilities. The Art of Sir Winston Spencer Churchill - Beach at Walmer, c. Through his political acumen and brilliant oratory skills, the two-time prime minister rallied his demoralized country to face down the massive, seemingly unstoppable German army. This was a guy who warned of Hitler’s threat long before it seemed polite to do so. The exhibition attracted enormous publicity all over the world. Open for less than a fortnight, this was the largest exhibition of his work since the 1959 show at the Royal Academy of Arts. Winston Churchill is one of those colossal figures who readily qualifies for that unfashionable moniker of The Great Man of History. Last January more than 12,000 people visited a loan exhibition of 105 paintings by Sir Winston Churchill at Sotheby’s in London. Winston Churchill’s Paintings: Great Statesman, Surprisingly Good Artist Churchill often responded to salutations with his traditional V symbol. He was well received by the local town folk and was esteemed for his courteousness and bonhomie-like character. His health and demeanour improved so much he would meander through the streets of Funchal inspecting and reminiscing the bucolic town that it was. Courtesy Churchill Heritage Limited / Anthea Morton Saner Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation The Art of Winston Spencer Churchill - Câmara de Lobos, The Fishing Port of Madeira, 1950.
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