Clare Sheridan
Head study of Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965), c. 1943-45
Plaster
6 in. (15.2 cm) high
Philip Mould & Co.
To view all current artworks for sale visit philipmould.com Inscribed on the reverse in later hand: ‘CHURCHILL/CLAIRE SHERIDAN/1945’. This head study of Winston Churchill was sculpted by his cousin...
To view all current artworks for sale visit philipmould.com
Inscribed on the reverse in later hand: ‘CHURCHILL/CLAIRE SHERIDAN/1945’.
This head study of Winston Churchill was sculpted by his cousin Clare Sheridan during the Second World War, and as such is a rare glimpse of Britain’s ‘greatest statesman’ during the most challenging period of his life and career.
The head was started in 1943 and is mentioned in a letter sent from Sheridan to Churchill dated 3rd May:
‘Tell Clemmy I’m just finishing a small head of you for her, no larger than my first as I know she dislikes big things – they are rather unmanageable!’
The ‘first’ work Sheridan refers to is her portrait bust of Churchill taken from life-sittings the year before in 1942 and cast in bronze in 1943 in an edition of at least 6. The sittings were undertaken in two separate morning sessions at 10 Downing Street in late November and December 1942 whilst Churchill was sat working in bed. [1] Although working under difficult circumstances – Churchill would often disappear behind newspapers or distract himself by teasing his pet cat with his feet beneath the sheets – Sheridan nevertheless made a likeness which pleased Churchill. His only comment was regarding the mouth which he considered unresolved. Sheridan, however, was quick to point out that she had left this until last due to the cigar which was constantly rolling around his lips and obscuring her view. [2]
By the time the present head was sculpted in May 1943 Churchill had regained favour and the war was turning in favour of the Allied forces. In July 1942 Churchill had survived a vote of confidence and in November the British and Commonwealth allies had been victorious at the Battle of El Alamein, defeating the previously successful German and North African offensive under Erwin Rommel and bringing about the ‘beginning of the end’ of the Western Desert Campaign. In January 1943 Churchill and President Roosevelt met and agreed that only an unconditional surrender would be an acceptable conclusion to the war and two months later Allied forces invaded and took Sicily, precipitating the Italian Campaign later in September.
Sheridan evidently decided not to give the present work to Clemmy after all and instead kept it for herself. We know that Sheridan was a canny businesswoman and was very aware of the value of Churchill’s likenesses and it may be the case that she decided to retain the head for reference when making bronze casts or other reproductions later on. It remained in Sheridan’s possession for many years before it was given to a close friend who was the mother of the previous owner.
[1] Black, J. (2017), Winston Churchill in British Art: 1900 to the Present Day, The Titan with Many Faces. London and New York: Bloomsbury Academic. P. 115.[2] Ibid.
Inscribed on the reverse in later hand: ‘CHURCHILL/CLAIRE SHERIDAN/1945’.
This head study of Winston Churchill was sculpted by his cousin Clare Sheridan during the Second World War, and as such is a rare glimpse of Britain’s ‘greatest statesman’ during the most challenging period of his life and career.
The head was started in 1943 and is mentioned in a letter sent from Sheridan to Churchill dated 3rd May:
‘Tell Clemmy I’m just finishing a small head of you for her, no larger than my first as I know she dislikes big things – they are rather unmanageable!’
The ‘first’ work Sheridan refers to is her portrait bust of Churchill taken from life-sittings the year before in 1942 and cast in bronze in 1943 in an edition of at least 6. The sittings were undertaken in two separate morning sessions at 10 Downing Street in late November and December 1942 whilst Churchill was sat working in bed. [1] Although working under difficult circumstances – Churchill would often disappear behind newspapers or distract himself by teasing his pet cat with his feet beneath the sheets – Sheridan nevertheless made a likeness which pleased Churchill. His only comment was regarding the mouth which he considered unresolved. Sheridan, however, was quick to point out that she had left this until last due to the cigar which was constantly rolling around his lips and obscuring her view. [2]
By the time the present head was sculpted in May 1943 Churchill had regained favour and the war was turning in favour of the Allied forces. In July 1942 Churchill had survived a vote of confidence and in November the British and Commonwealth allies had been victorious at the Battle of El Alamein, defeating the previously successful German and North African offensive under Erwin Rommel and bringing about the ‘beginning of the end’ of the Western Desert Campaign. In January 1943 Churchill and President Roosevelt met and agreed that only an unconditional surrender would be an acceptable conclusion to the war and two months later Allied forces invaded and took Sicily, precipitating the Italian Campaign later in September.
Sheridan evidently decided not to give the present work to Clemmy after all and instead kept it for herself. We know that Sheridan was a canny businesswoman and was very aware of the value of Churchill’s likenesses and it may be the case that she decided to retain the head for reference when making bronze casts or other reproductions later on. It remained in Sheridan’s possession for many years before it was given to a close friend who was the mother of the previous owner.
[1] Black, J. (2017), Winston Churchill in British Art: 1900 to the Present Day, The Titan with Many Faces. London and New York: Bloomsbury Academic. P. 115.[2] Ibid.
Provenance
Gifted to the mother of the previous owner by Clare Sheridan.1
of
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