Live Auction 5263Out of The Ordinary
A DUTCH TERRACOTTA MAQUETTE OF SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL
Lot 27

A DUTCH TERRACOTTA MAQUETTE OF SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL

BY WILLEM A. VERBON (1921-2003)

Closed3 September 2014

Price Realised

GBP 11,875

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A DUTCH TERRACOTTA MAQUETTE OF SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL
BY WILLEM A. VERBON (1921-2003)
Signed 'Verbon' (behind the right shoulder) with further indistinct marks below
25 in. (63.5 cm.) high; 14 ½ in. (37 cm.) protrusion
Together with a gilt-tooled leather copy of Painting As A Pastime, W. S. Churchill, inscribed to the frontispiece 'To Wilhelm Verbon from Winston Churchill 1954', a copy of a biography of Verbon, published 1986, a copy of a photograph signed ' Winston S. Churchill' and another copy of a photograph of Churchill in the robes with copied signature mounted in an easel silvered frame

Acquired directly from the Estate of Verbon and his workshop after the artist's death in 2003.

Specialist note

This unique study of Sir Winston Churchill was created directly from observation, commissioned by the City Hall of Rotterdam, which resulted in two bronze editions cast in 1954. The first still stands outside the City Hall and the second was sold at Christie’s, London, 20 June 1996 (£20,700). Correspondence exits between Churchill and Verbon (The Churchill Archive 24 June 1951- 10 Oct 1962), who became friends during the war in London, and apparently Churchill, an artist himself, actually helped Verbon execute this clay model.
Churchill is depicted in the robes of a Knight of the Most Ancient Order of Garter in 1953 at the Coronation of H.M. The Queen. The robe is worn over the uniform of the Admiral of the Cinque Ports. The chain around the sitter's neck is 'Great George' which was originally granted to the first Duke of Marlborough and lent to Churchill at the Coronation by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.