The result was the present work which captures Churchill's characteristic strength and determination during this turbulent moment in world history. ![]() ![]() After several further requests, Salisbury was finally granted a sitting and proudly showcased his swift abilities with a brush. However, due to Churchill's wartime commitments the sitting was not granted, and the artist instead had to copy his likeness from photographs and previous portraits. Salisbury had requested a formal sitting with Churchill in 1943 for a large-scale multi-figure work titled The Presentation of the Freedom of the City to Winston Churchill in the Guildhall, London, 30 June 1943 which was commissioned by Sir Samuel Joseph to commemorate the historic event. Smilingly, I requested him not to look so stern, as if I painted him like that everybody would be frightened'. When he took the pose, he set his mouth and I thought of Mrs Churchill. One and a half hours later he arrived, saying that now he could only give me ten minutes! I could not help a laugh, asking if he thought it possible that I could paint a portrait in so short a time. '…At six o'clock I received a telephone message from 10 Downing Street to say that the Prime Minister's car was at the door, a few minutes to seven o'clock a further message that the Prime Minister was about to enter his car. The overlooked diary entry is corroborated by Salisbury's memoirs which describe the excitement of Churchill's visit to the studio: Churchill was abroad in October 1944, which led past scholars to overlook its significance as an authentic image painted from life and to assume it was based on secondary source material. The portrait was kept by Salisbury who later signed and inscribed the work with the incorrect date 'Oct 24 1944' in the lower right corner.
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