Our visit to the Wallace Collection embraced the celebration of the British side of our dual nationality society.
We congregated in the warm autumn sunshine outside the spectacular building which houses the Wallace Collection. Amongst us were art enthusiasts, historians, researchers, all excited to hear from our expert guide, Gowri Siva-Jaffray, on the pieces of art created by British statesman Winston Churchill. Interestingly this most British of exhibitions also had a BritishSpanish connection in that it was co-curated by Wallace Collection Director Dr Xavier Bray, who formed his love for art at a visit to the Prado museum in Madrid and has a particular interest in art from Spain.
With a unexpectedly vast collection to explore, which we quickly learnt was only a small number of the pieces created by Churchill, our guide promised to introduce us to a small selection of landscapes and still life which explored Churchill’s use of colour, were of particular note, or held interesting stories.
We started the tour with an brief history of Churchill’s introduction to painting and the influences and teaching he had from artists including L.S.Lowry.
Moving through the gallery we started our tour viewing a painting which allowed Churchill to indulge in his love of the drinks cabinet. Specifically arranged with bottles of his favourite tipples we were encouraged to look at Churchill’s expertise in recreating glass and shadow in the painting which he had gifted to his wife. In contrast, a painting of silver wear, which felt less personal but of equal merit had been gifted to Anthony Eden and we were left wondering whether there were hidden messages in his choice of to whom each paining had been gifted.
Gowri shared some of the stories of Churchill’s past, detailing his emotional attachment to Knebworth as we viewed the landscape he had painted, perhaps fondly thinking of his first love Pamela Litten. Churchill’s love of water was demonstrated in a painting of his birthplace, Blenheim Palace, which showed his talented use of colour, particularly the shades of blue and green he was drawn to. Gowri noted that this painting, gifted to Viscount Montgomery, had unusually been doubly signed by Churchill.
As we looked at one of Churchill’s paintings of his beloved retreat Chartwell in the snow, which focussed on the house rather than the glorious panoramic view surrounding it, we pondered the place that art had in Churchill’s life, did he paint to remember why he had made the sacrifices he had, was he painting the England he had fought for, and did it provide the peace he sought after holding such an important jrole at the most difficult of times?
We took one last view of the many paintings with a deeper respect for the man, his talents, his flaws and his passion and asked only one more question as we once again looked at the views of Morocco and France, where were the paintings of Spain? We know he visited Spain and had an appreciation for the country. Had the pantings been destroyed, did they ever exist?
A huge thanks to our guide Gowri Siva-Jaffray and to the Wallace Collection for supporting our visit.
Our exciting cultural and social event programme celebrates British and Spanish live and supports academic excellence and research though our annual Scholarship programme. Please do do join us for our next event.
