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Survival and Change in the Paintings of Winston S Maine State Library Maine State Documents Academic Research and Dissertations Special Collections 2016 SURVIVAL AND CHANGE IN THE PAINTINGS OF WINSTON S. CHURCHILL Jean Wellington Nelson Bundy IDSVA Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalmaine.com/academic Recommended Citation Bundy, Jean Wellington Nelson, "SURVIVAL AND CHANGE IN THE PAINTINGS OF WINSTON S. CHURCHILL" (2016). Academic Research and Dissertations. 17. http://digitalmaine.com/academic/17 This Text is brought to you for free and open access by the Special Collections at Maine State Documents. It has been accepted for inclusion in Academic Research and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Maine State Documents. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SURVIVAL AND CHANGE IN THE PAINTINGS OF WINSTON S. CHURCHILL Jean Wellington Nelson Bundy Submitted to the faculty of The Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy December, 2016 Accepted by the faculty of The Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy __________________________ Michael R. Smith, Ph.D. Doctoral Committee __________________________ Simonetta Moro, Ph.D. __________________________ Amy Cook, Ph.D. Date of official submission: December 29, 2016 ii © 2016 Jean Wellington Nelson Bundy ALL RIGHTS RESERVED iii Dedicated to my husband David iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My thanks to Dr. Michael R. Smith, my advisor for this project, for all of his helpful support and guidance. v ABSTRACT Jean Wellington Nelson Bundy SURVIVAL AND CHANGE IN THE PAINTINGS OF WINSTON S. CHURCHILL During Winston Churchill’s long career he painted hundreds of landscapes which have been viewed as picturesque, a British genre popular to painters and landscape gardeners, mimicking nature. Artists sold flatwork, architectural designs, or led countryside tours; for the gentleman, painting was merely an aristocratic pastime. I will argue that analyzing Churchill’s bright palette used to saturate spatiality on canvas, often resembling military field mapping, uncovers considerations beyond a pastime. Russian Constructivism permeated Britain’s art groups between the wars, acting as a backdrop to Churchill the painter, thus providing contextual contrast in the form of abstracted works to his representational landscapes. Applying a cultural Marxist methodology in the guise of Russian Constructivism to his art elucidates his unintentional responses to social and political change, along with his commitment to the survival of Britain, while allowing for aristocratic ideologies expected in Churchill’s aesthetics. Overlooked contextual underpinnings such as Britain’s struggles with two World Wars while maintaining the eroding Empire, are layered into Churchill’s Romantic and Modernist stylizations. Artists, primarily Cézanne with his determination to objectify Impressionistic light, appealed to Churchill who painted Britain’s place even when abroad. I will argue that the category of amateur placed on deceased artists continues to be ill- defined. Insightful content found beneath Churchill’s paintings has been overlooked because vi he was deemed a gentleman painter during his life. Churchill’s aristocratic lineage, evident at Blenheim, his ancestral home, left him the social status of amateur artist no matter how much talent he exuded or how many works he sold. The importance of place as embodied in his love for country and found in his paintings is preserved at Blenheim and Chartwell. Post World War II commercialism produced Kitsch which Churchill readily embraced, thus eroding his amateur status which contributed to increasing the value of his artwork. Contextual analysis of Churchill’s landscapes through a Constructivist-cultural Marxist framework allows contemplation of his paintings not just as a gentleman’s pastime but also as troped imagery imbibed with social and political thought complimenting his writings and orations, leading to a better understanding of the man and his times. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 1. Evolution of Amateur Artist through a Cultural Critique 14 2. Churchill and Landscape 62 3. The Cézanne Effect on Churchill’s Paintings 112 4. Churchill and Imperialism 162 5. Churchill and Place 211 6. Churchill’s Legacy Through Kitsch 260 Conclusion 307 Bibliography 320 viii Introduction: Survival and Change in Winston Churchill’s Paintings During Winston Churchill’s long career he painted hundreds of landscapes which have been viewed as Picturesque, a British genre popular to painters and landscape gardeners, mimicking nature. Artists sold flatwork, architectural designs, or led countryside tours; for the gentleman, painting was merely an aristocratic pastime. I will argue that analyzing Churchill’s bright palette used to saturate spatiality on canvas, often resembling military field mapping, uncovers considerations beyond a pastime. Russian Constructivism permeated Britain’s art groups between the wars, acting as a backdrop to Churchill the painter, thus providing contextual contrast in the form of abstracted works to his representational landscapes. Applying a cultural Marxist methodology in the guise of Russian Constructivism to his art elucidates his unintentional responses to social and political change, along with his commitment to the survival of Britain, while allowing for aristocratic ideologies expected in Churchill’s aesthetics. Overlooked contextual underpinnings such as Britain’s struggles with two World Wars while maintaining the eroding Empire, are layered into Churchill’s Romantic and Modernist stylizations. Color once considered subordinate to line, becomes an important way to represent visual objectivity. Artists, primarily Cézanne with his determination to objectify Impressionistic light, appealed to Churchill who painted Britain’s place even when abroad. The category of amateur placed on deceased artists continues to be ill-defined. Insightful content found beneath Churchill’s paintings has been overlooked because he was deemed a gentleman painter during his life. Churchill’s aristocratic lineage, evident at 1 Blenheim, his ancestral home, left him the social status of amateur artist no matter how much talent he exuded or how many works he sold. The importance of place, embodied in Churchill’s love of country, continues to be present at both Blenheim and Chartwell. Post World War II commercialism was embraced by Churchill. Churchilliana (Kitsch) manufactured, contributed to the insignificance of his amateur status and increased awareness of his artwork, increasing its value. Contextual analysis of Churchill’s landscapes through a Constructivist-cultural Marxist framework allows contemplation of his paintings not just as a gentleman’s pastime but also as troped imagery imbibed with social and political thought complimenting his writings and orations, leading to a better understanding of the man and his times. Short biographical sketches below provide understanding of key players in this paper who contributed to changing British art: Winston Churchill, Ben Nicholson and Russian, Naum Gabo who influenced Nicholson. Brief chapter sketches follow. Brief History of Winston Churchill Churchill was born into British aristocracy, 1874; his father was the second son of the seventh Duke of Marlborough (Coombs 15). Although a prankster and a poor student, he liked to read; one of his teachers recognized his ability to write. Churchill excelled at English, history and drawing. He was raised by nanny, Mrs. Anne Everest who provided more nurturing than his parents (Severance 14). In 1893, not considered able for Oxford or Cambridge, family influence sent him to Sandhurst, Britain’s military college, training upper class officers to manage the British Empire. 2 In 1896, he was sent to India with his cavalry regiment. Returning to England, he gave speeches for the Conservative Party, focusing on promoting ideals of British authority in underdeveloped parts of the world. In 1897, he returned to India, fighting Afghan tribes, he sent back war reportage to The Daily Telegraph. The success of his book, The Story of the Malakand Field Force, convinced him he could make a living writing (Coombs 15, 16; Severance 21). In 1898, Churchill joined Lord Kitchener (1850-1916) in the Sudan, reporting for The Morning Post while taking part in the Battle of Omdurman’s cavalry charge (Coombs 16). In 1899, as a war correspondent for The Morning Post, he covered the Boer War in South Africa, and was captured by the Boers (Afrikaner farmers). He escaped imprisonment and became a national hero, winning a seat in Parliament (Coombs 17). In 1901, influenced by philanthropist Seebohn Rowntree (1871-1954) who wrote about the poor of York, Churchill said, “I see little glory in an Empire that rules the waves but is unable to flush its sewers” (Coombs17; Severance 29). In 1905, the Liberal Party came into power. Switching parties, Churchill entered the House of Commons as a Free-Trader, becoming Undersecretary of State at the Colonial Office (Coombs 18; Severance 31, 32). In 1908, Churchill began a twenty-four year representation of Dundee Scotland while marrying Clementine Hozier (1885-1971). Serving the Liberal party, he became Home Secretary stressing, prison reform, prohibiting child- labor, creating old-age pensions and unemployment insurance. He also intervened with striking Welsh coal miners, dock and railroad laborers. (Coombs 18,
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