British Historian to Give Talk at Yale on Winston Churchill as Artist

Renowned British historian Sir David Cannadine will give a lecture on the artistic pursuits of Winston Churchill at the Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel Street, on Thursday, April 21, at 5:30 p.m.

Cannadine’s lecture, titled “Painting as a Pastime: Winston Churchill: The Statesman as Artist,” is free and open to the public.

“Sir Winston Churchill was an uncommonly versatile and great man: not just a politician, statesman, and war leader, but also a soldier, journalist, historian, biographer, bricklayer, racehorse owner — and painter,” note the event organizers. “For Churchill, painting was a pastime and a relief from the pressures of public life; and it was also therapy and an antidote to the “black dog” of depression, which plagued this towering figure throughout his life. Cannadine’s lecture will explore Churchill’s remarkable creativity as an artist with oils.”

Cannadine is the Whitney J. Oates Senior Research Scholar and professor of history at Princeton University. He is an eminent historian of British history from 1800 to 2000. He has published extensively on aspects of social, cultural, political and imperial history from this period, with a particular focus on the British aristocracy; urban development and the structure of power in British towns. Cannadine’s publications include “In Churchill’s Shadow: Confronting the Past in Modern Britain”; “Mellon: An American Life”; and “Ornamentalism: How the British Saw Their Empire.”

YALE CENTER FOR BRITISH ART
Presented to the university by Paul Mellon, the Yale Center for British Art houses the largest and most comprehensive collection of British art outside the United Kingdom. The collections reflect the development of British art, life, and thought from the Elizabeth n period onward. The Center offers a year-round schedule of exhibitions and educational programs, as well as numerous academic resources. One of the museum’s greatest treasures is the building itself. Opened in 1977, the Center was designed by internationally acclaimed American architect Louis I. Kahn.