I tell you what I really like, one shouldn’t use it but I always like a touch of pure black on the palette.” Winston: “Ah now there I disagree with you, no black-Neutral Tint perhaps, but never black. Their conversation, she said, was a delight:Īlex: “I always use just a touch of Rose Madder, do you use Rose Madder, Winston?” Winston: “But of course, I always use Rose Madder, what about Yellow Ochre?” Alex: “Yes, yes I’m very fond of Yellow Ochre, Yellow Ochre pale is very useful. Two artists observedįrom Lake Como on September 8th, Sarah Churchill wrote her mother, enchanted by the interplay between her father and his fellow artist. The “V” reflecting the blue sky in the water also leads the eye, breaking up the monotony of the green. In Churchill’s water reflection, he paints the sunlit leaves and shaded canopy as a distinctive shape. His observation with the overhanging trees and their reflection is given far more importance and commitment than Alexander, who chooses a more subtle, quiet statement. This choice both breaks up the leaf canopy and makes for colourful reflections in the water. In this work, Churchill makes much of the cerulean and cobalt blue sky. He was forever fascinated by it, capturing the water’s myriad of colours, reflections and ripples. The stone steps are identical, save for the dark shadows in Churchill’s work.Ĭhurchill revelled in painting water. The boathouse is similar in both the works, their palettes employing yellow ochre and a soft, mauve for the shadows made by trees. Alexander’s is more formal and traditional, making more of the distant buildings and mountains. The trees overhang, almost kissing the water’s surface, extending far further over the lake and more fully covering his canvas. Churchill’s has more flowing rhythms and exaggerations. Yet both works are rooted in that movement.Ĭomposition is another stark comparison of the Como canvases. Sir Winston’s direct approach with brushwork and colour, without Alexander’s blending or softening of the edges, is more akin to Impressionism. This gives Alexander’s work a warm, airy feeling, albeit far less bold. His darkest dark is no darker than Churchill’s mid-tones. He couldn’t resist using all the colours on his palette.” Alexander’s Como scene is subdued, restricted in both chroma and tone. Seago once commented that “if Churchill saw a red roof, he painted it red.” This could have been an observation on how Alexander saw Churchill’s “daubs.” Alexander himself wrote that Churchill “loved colours, and used far too many. HRH The Duke of Edinburgh invited Seago to sail to the Antarctic on HMY Britannia in 1956, and they both painted on board. Seago’s paintings were collected by the Royal Family, so much so that they became close friends. Clearly, Seago was a huge influence on Alexander’s style and taste. Seago returned the compliment, writing the foreword to Alexander’s book The Paintings of Field Marshal Earl Alexander of Tunis. Seago’s book, With the Allied Armies in Italy, reproduced his work during this campaign Alexander wrote the foreword. Alexander personally enlisted Seago as an unofficial war artist on his Italian campaign, since the artist could not enlist because of a heart condition. Sarah Churchill, who was travelling with her father, wrote: “It is amazing how their styles are very similar and the painting conversation has been a delight.” Alexander’s mentorĪlexander was an admirer and friend of the artist Edward Seago, as indeed was Field Marshal Auchinleck. Both are representational works and both artists had similar tastes in art. Side by side they depicted the Como lakeside, Churchill on the left, Alexander on the right.Īt first glance, both works have distinct similarities beyond the subject. Alexander, also an artist, stayed for two nights and they painted together. In September he invited Churchill to holiday there. Field Marshal Alexander had requisitioned Villa La Rosa, on the shores of Lake Como in Italy. It was shortly after the general election, which he’d described as the longest week of his life. September 1945 brought a welcome respite for Winston Churchill. (Images courtesy of Chartwell, Churchill Heritage Ltd. Paul Rafferty compares their varying techniques below. They hang together at Chartwell, by kind courtesy of Minnie Churchill, who acquired the Alexander work at auction. “Como Lakeside,” a pair of paintings by Winston Churchill and Field Marshal Alexander, September 1945, Coombs 383.
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