Dear David:
Thank you for this interesting information which I will share with the Curator, Tim Riley. Best, Lee Lee Pollock Executive Director The Churchill Centre [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of David Riddle Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 2015 6:16 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [ChurchillChat] Churchill exhibit in St. Louis Evan.. I would be interested to know what story (or stories) have crossed the pond along with 'Bottlescape' and being related by the curator? As Volunteer Room Stewards at Chartwell, we have two stories about the painting that we frequently tell visitors. One is about how the painting came about. The story is that Sir Winston received the very large bottle bottle of brandy depicted for Christmas (probably 1926) at Chartwell when at least some of the children were quite young. On Boxing Day, he suggested to them that the brandy bottle looked rather like an Army General and that he would like them to search the house for some troops for him in the form of various shapes and sizes of wine bottle. He then proceeded to paint the assembled gathering of glassware, along with one of two table lamps that are still to be found on the fitted oak side table located in Chartwell's Dining Room beneath where the picture is normally located. The other is about the perception that the face of Sir Winston can be seen reflected in one of the brandy glasses depicted. Another interesting fact is that, post-war, it is believed that either a hole was made in the wall behind where the painting in now located, or even a small room was constructed, to allow a full-size 35mm film projector to be located there for the display of films at weekends to family, staff and house guests. The Dining Room was re-located upstairs post-war, initially to where the Museum and Uniform Rooms are currently found, later to Lady C's Bedroom, to enable the semi-basement space to be used as a home cinema. I trust this is of interest to readers. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Riddle Biggin Hill, Westerham Kent e-Mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- On 14 Dec 2015, at 01:56, 'EvanQ' via ChurchillChat <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: Hi, If you are in or near St. Louis, Missouri, you should go see the exhibit of Churchill's paintings at the Kemper Art Museum on the Washington University campus. There are 46 paintings, ranging from 1915 to 1955. As with any art exhibit, seeing the paintings in person is much more impressive than any catalog or reproduction can convey. There are 15 paintings on loan from Chartwell, which I haven't yet visited so enjoyed seeing very much. Equally so, there are 12 paintings from private collections, so this is a rare opportunity to see them. Also, not mentioned in the announcement in the Chartwell Bulletin was Churchill's Bust of Oscar Nemon, his only sculpture. I think my favorites were "Tapestries at Blenheim Palace" (the artistry but also the family connection), the "Tower of Katoubia Mosque" (because I happen to be reading about the Casablanca Conference in the Official Biography) and "Bottlescape," for the humor of the piece and the story the curator relates about it. Enjoy it if you get the chance. Evan p.s. There is also a WWI exhibit which I did not have a chance to see. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ChurchillChat" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> . To post to this group, send email to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> . Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/churchillchat. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ChurchillChat" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> . To post to this group, send email to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> . Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/churchillchat. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ChurchillChat" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/churchillchat. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
