Winston Churchill’s final painting, depicting the goldfish pool at Chartwell (his home in Kent) is up for auction in November.
Churchill painted the work in 1962, three years before he died. As he grew more advanced in age, painting became increasingly difficult and ultimately impossible.
Churchill's final painting is uncharacteristically abstract
It’s fitting that his final work would be of his goldfish pond, where he spent many happy hours.
While Churchill was extremely vocal in his dislike of modern art, this piece is uncharacteristically abstract in its capturing of the diffracted movement of the fish and the reflections of the surrounding foliage on the water.
He gifted the work to his bodyguard, Sergeant Edmund Murray. It has passed down in Murray’s family ever since.
This is the first time it’s ever been offered on the market. It’s estimated to sell for £50,000-80,000 ($65,850-105,360).
We argue that estimate is on the low side. Churchill paintings have been selling well above their valuations in recent years, with a still life gifted to the actress Vivien Leigh achieving £638,750 ($862,824) at Sotheby’s last month.
In 2014, another of his studies of the goldfish pond sold for a Churchill record £1.8m ($2.3m).
The fact this is his final painting is almost certain to drive up the value.
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