John Spencer Churchill (UK,1909-1992) oil painting

Lot description

ARTIST: John George Spencer Churchill (British, 1909 - 1992) NAME: Bridge of Blenheim Palace YEAR: 1980 MEDIUM: oil on board CONDITION: Excellent. No visible inpaint under UV light. SIGHT SIZE: 7 x 10 inches / 17 x 24 cm FRAME SIZE: 8 x 11 inches / 20 x 28 cm SIGNATURE: Lower right NOTE: has artist's stamp verso CATEGORY: antique vintage painting SKU#: 114971 WARRANTY: 7 days returns accepted if item doesn't match description US Shipping $35 + insurance. John George Spencer Churchill (British, 1909 - 1992) John Spencer Churchill was an artist and sculptor, painter of murals, portraits and frescoes, a bon viveur, and a celebrated figure in Chelsea in the 1950s. But above all he was a Churchill, who lived not only under the daunting influence of his father, but also of his Uncle Winston. Johnny took great pride in his Churchill connections. He was even prone to encourage the mischievous suggestion that he might be Uncle Winston's son, but there was no truth in that. Johnny left the City at the end of 1931, painted Chips's mural (which the subsequent owner of the flat instantly obliterated) and only returned to Vickers da Costa in 1955 when my father, the then senior partner, invited him to decorate the boardroom in their offices in King William Street. My family are united in retaining a soft spot for Johnny Churchill. He was warm and friendly, charming without being too ostensibly so, and, above all, he had heart. When I met him in 1979, I found him quite different from what I expected - gentle, friendly, sober. That October he invited me to his exhibition in Chelsea Manor Gardens. My diary records that the pictures had charm but could have been hung a little more professionally. A nice surgeon's widow, his then girlfriend, was doing her zealous best to sell them. Art was always his first interest, and at school he was not noted for academic achievement, though he was a keen acrobatic diver, and enjoyed pulling off acrobatic stunts when he had an audience. At Harrow he was a keen worker in the art school, specialising in watercolours, and at Oxford he adorned his rooms with murals. In 1929 he accompanied his father, Uncle Winston and Randolph on their celebrated trip to Canada and the US, taking great pleasure in meeting all the Hollywood stars (save the elusive Garbo) under the auspices of William Randolph Hearst. Early in his painting career, Tilly Losch, the Viennese dancer who also painted - usually images of herself - gave Johnny the sound advice that he should aim to leave his pictures almost unfinished. His connections helped him obtain commissions and he was soon undertaking work for Lady Islington and the Maharanee of Cooch Behar. He also adorned Aubrey Herbert's villa at Portofino and relished his work on the battles of the Duke of Marlborough at Chartwell in 1935. Later he decorated a temple at Blenheim for the 10th Duke of Marlborough and painted views of London in Simpson's of Piccadilly. He turned his hand to sculpture and was inclined to dash off a sketch of a friend he might be visiting, which he might then present as a gift or sell, according to the fluctuating state of his pocket. At the end of May 1940 Johnny, then a Corps Camouflage Officer, was despatched to Dunkirk and on his return was able to tell his uncle personally of the urgent need for small boats to assist in rescuing the troops there. After the war he founded the now thriving interior-decorating business George Spencer.