The last painting by British wartime prime minister (and keen amateur artist) Winston Churchill (1874-1965) sold last night at Sotheby’s.
The lot achieved £357,000 ($474,815), a 368% increase on an £80,000 ($106,401) estimate.
Churchill loved to sit by his goldfish pond
The piece dates to 1962, towards the end of Churchill’s life.
Since the late 1940s he’d suffered a series of strokes, which increasingly affected his mental and physical health.
He’d been forced to stand down as prime minister in 1955 as a result.
Painting had been Churchill's great passion for many years. He found it a great stress reliever, but by the early 60s it had become impossible.
While Churchill had been a vocal critic of modern art, there is an abstract feel to this piece that is very much at odds with the rest of his work.
It depicts his beloved goldfish pond at Chartwell, his home in Kent. Churchill focuses on the reflections on the water and the refracted motion of the fish.
He gave the canvas to his long-time bodyguard, Sergeant Edward Murray. This is the first time it’s ever been offered at auction.
Churchill’s work has jumped in value of late, thanks in part to the sale of another view of his goldfish pond for a record £1.8m in 2014.
We have this marvellous piece of Churchill memorabilia from the post-war years.
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