Churchill painting sells for record £1.8m: 'Extremely personal' Goldfish Pool work among collection

UK Daily Mail ^ | December 17, 2014 | Emily Kent Smith

[C19fan]

A painting by Sir Winston Churchill sold for £1.8million last night – a record price for a work of art by the former Prime Minister. The Goldfish Pool at Chartwell, labelled 'extremely personal' by auctioneers, had been estimated to be worth between £400,000 and £600,000. Of the 11 pieces of artwork sold at Sotheby's in London last night, at least five went to American buyers. Two were bought by UK buyers and a further four remained anonymous. A Sotheby's spokesman said: 'Churchill's exceptional ability as a painter was celebrated.'

[C19fan]

Comparison of Churchill and Hitler:

Soldier: Hitler corporal, Churchill a Major with Grenadier Guards; winner Churchill

Writer: Hitler Mein Kempf which if Hitler stayed obscure would of disappeared, Churchull won a Noble Prize for Literature; winner Churchill

Geo-political Analyst: Hitler's mistakes helped lead Nazi Germany to defeat, Churchill forgetting about Gallopi, :0, identified Hitler as the evil man he would be, lead Britain to victory in WW II, called the West to stop post-war Soviet Expansion; winner Churchill

Artist: Hitler failed art student who dabbled in water colors, Churchill accomplished artist; winner Churchill

Summary: Churchill is you papi Adolf.

[allendale]

Safe to say Obama wasn’t bidding.

[Sans-Culotte]

Churchill had a remarkable career. Had he been killed in WWI, he would still be in the history books because of his service in the last of the Victorian wars and his accounts of them. He was quite a decent painter and might have even been famous as an artist alone. Had he concentrated on merely being a historian, he would still be known for the beauty of his prose. On top of all that, he saved Britain from the "Narzis".

He really was (IMHO) the "greatest man of the 20th century". Small wonder a narcissistic mediocrity like Obama would be offended by Winnie's likeness in the White House. The moment when Obama first saw the bust it was probably like a vampire being confronted with a cross or a beam of pure sunlight.

[golux]

Bidding? Obama couldn’t recognize a Basquiat on the wall of an inner city Chicago neighborhood. Heck, Obama couldn’t recognize a Semikazi on the wall of his own nursery. Frankly, the guy wouldn’t recognize himself in a Riefenstahl flick.

[Gay State Conservative]

I just might be willing to pay that sum for actual recordings of Cabinet War Room meetings but I'd never pay 1/1000th of that sum for *any* work of “art”.

[dfwgator]

"But nobody ever said a bad word about Winston Churchill, did they? No! 'Win with Winnie!' Churchill! With his cigars. With his brandy. And his rotten painting, rotten! Hitler - there was a painter! He count paint an entire apartment in one afternoon! Two Coats!"

[HerrBlucher]

The moment when Obama first saw the bust it was probably like a vampire being confronted with a cross or a beam of pure sunlight.

No doubt.

Yes, Churchill was the greatest man of the 21st century.

[dfwgator]

I would dare say, greatest man of all-time.

If I could meet any historical figure, he’d be at the top of my list.

[Forward the Light Brigade]

But does Hitlers art sell for more?

[Albion Wilde]

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I’ll never forget that scene in AN AMERICAN IN PARIS when Gene Kelly, struggling artist, walks by and stops to look back, to see what famous person is paining on the sidewalk!

[Mr. K]

what person was it?

if it was Chruchill - was it a dig at him? (reduced to painting on a sidewalk?) or an homage?

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Homage.

[Skooz]

He really was (IMHO) the "greatest man of the 20th century".

No question about it. He was.

[dfwgator]

He took up painting to help him cope with his “Black Dog.”

If you haven’t had a chance to see it, you must see “The Gathering Storm” with Albert Finney as Churchill.

[Gefn]

What a beautiful painting.

He was a man of many talents.

[Bobalu]

[Dr. Ursus]

I have read many of his works and biographies of him,but let’s not forget Gallopoli and the destruction of Colossus at the end of WW2.

[Ditter]

It. Is a beautiful painting I love it.

[zeugma]

I liked what he had to say about King Arthur in his "History of English Speaking Peoples". After going into the background of the era and some arguments for/against him being an actual historical figure, he writes:

"In this account we prefer to believe that the story with which Geoffrey delighted the fiction-loving Europe of the twelfth century is not all fancy. If we could see exactly what happened we should find ourselves in the presense of a theme as well founded, as inspired, an as inalienable from the inheritance of mankind as the Odyssey or the Old Testament. It is all true, or it ought to be; and more and better besides. And wherever men are fighting against barbarism, tyranny, and massacre for freedom, law and honour, let them remember that the fame of their deeds , even though they themselves exterminated, may perhaps be celebrated as long as the world rolls round. Let us then declare that Kind Arthur and his noble knights, guarding the Sacred Flame of Christianity and the theme of a world order, sustained by valour, physical strength, and good horses and armour, slaughtered innumerable hosts of foul barbarians and set decent folk an example for all time.