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Winston Churchill (1914-1965)

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Taming the Black Dog!

In 1933, George Orwell described a screever as possibly one of the most interesting characters he had ever encountered. He also told us that on a good day, pavement artists could be found every 25 feet along the Thames Embankment; a fact that was well documented, right up until the 1960’s.

No surprise then that Winston Churchill encountered them during his parliamentary business. He was often seen admiring the work of the humble street painter and later wrote about it in his 1949 book “Painting as a Pastime.” Indeed, he cited the pavement artist as a major reason for him to take up painting as a hobby.

Churchill the Painter; in his studio at Chartwell House.

Churchill the Painter; in his studio at Chartwell House.

As he stated in his book “I stood agape before the chalk of the pavement artist” …in 1914, at the age of 40, feeling inspired, he bought himself a set of oil paints after dabbling one Sunday morning with the children’s paint box.  He said “I consider myself very lucky that late in life, I have been able to develop this new taste and pastime,” adding “To have reached the age of 40 without ever handling a brush, or fiddle with a pencil, to have regarded with mature eye the painting of pictures of any kind as a mystery.”

For Churchill, the pavement artist was a magical encounter and inspiration. He became a “hobby artist” until he died in 1965. He often said that art kept THE BLACK DOG at bay; it was his nick-name for depression, which he suffered from throughout his life.

Winston Churchill’s association with pavement art goes way back; in 1923, it was reported in the Nottingham Evening Post that “Winston’s strongly marked features are a favourite subject with pavement artists”

Churchill the Pavement Artist; as featured in Punch Magazine 1933.

Churchill the Pavement Artist; as featured in Punch Magazine 1933.

By the time of the Second World War, Churchill’s features had been well and truly established, often trodden under the feet of the pavement passenger; but come 1943 and a new face was taking pride of place in the screever’s armoury. It was reported that “GENERAL MONTGOMERY seems to have supplanted Mr Churchill in the affections of the London pavement artist. They find his features easier to reproduce than the features of the Prime Minister.”

Churchill referred to these “very clever” artists as “the Rembrandts of the street.”

Dropping a few coins into the hat of a favoured artist of the day, humour never deserted him, even in the darkest days of the war; he summoned one of his Generals (Colonel T.J. Cowen) to bring war maps to 10 Downing Street; outside, he found him making last minute alterations, kneeling on the pavement with his cap by his side.  The Prime Minister looked down, threw a penny in the hat and walked away.

…..and that’s how we won the war!

 

Written and researched by Philip Battle

Visit my Artists of The Paving Stone page on Facebook!



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