Lady Churchill would

Lady Churchill would also try to grab a canvas off his easel when she thought it was done, much to the chagrin of Winston. He had a tendency to overwork a canvas and kill the freshness he’d captured on location. Pont-du-Gard is remarkably carpeted by Churchill’s brush, glowing as it does in the last light. In fact this was a common thread with the canvases as they tended to be painted in the afternoon light, probably after his lunch. I used laminated reproductions around the size of a large post card to find the exact spot on location. This was imperative for me as I wished to line all the elements up with the canvas. Many times it would be identical, quite incredible considering the development along the coast. I live in Mougins where Churchill visited the Guinness family in the 1930’s and painted the chapel next door, Notre Dame de Vie. In 1960 Pablo Picasso bought the house having also visited the Guinness family and falling in love with the Mas. This would be Picasso’s home and studio until his death in 1973. One of the highlights of the book occurred during my research when I managed to discover a small photograph at Chartwell, showing Churchill in a dark robe at Chateau de l’Horizon holding a painting of St Paul de Vence. This proved to reverse a decision made on national tv, the BBC’s Fake or Fortune programme, and the painting is today in the Churchill collection.