After the great success of Sir Winston Churchill 2017, I was delighted to receive a commission to make another Winston Churchill sculpture, a bronze bust – Sir Winston Churchill 2020. An American collector wanted to place it in an avenue in his garden.
I don’t do many portraits, but in the midst of the Covid pandemic and with the American elections going on, it seemed an apposite time to revisit the great man.
As before, it was important to me that I conveyed more than just Churchill’s likeness. He had such an expressive face. This time, I wanted to explore a different expression, another facet of the same subject. We remember him for leading his country during difficult years and my 2017 sculpture reflected that. I showed Churchill troubled by dark thoughts. However, there was also a lighter side to him and in this new sculpture, I have shown the British statesman with a softer expression. The piece feels quite uplifting, a feeling emphasised by the composition. Where the 2017 sculpture was quite bottom-heavy, this new Winston Churchill sculpture sits lightly on its base.
I chose Hornton stone to make the plinth, because it seemed so appropriate. It is quarried in north-west Oxfordshire, not far from Churchill’s birthplace at Blenheim Palace and his final resting place in the churchyard of St Martin’s in Bladon. The bronze bust was sculpted using a course wet crank clay which suits my loose gestural style and helps bring a dynamic quality to this portrait.
The 2017 Winston Churchill sculpture sold quickly and is now held in collections all over the world, including at Number 10 Downing Street, Blenheim Palace, The White House and the superyacht Christina O. I hope collectors enjoy this new bust of Sir Winston Churchill as much as the last. It is available in a limited edition of 12.
