Books and Manuscripts

Two Letters from Clementine Churchill to artist Frank O. Salisbury Regarding His Portrait of Her Husband, Prime Minister Winston Churchill

Churchill, Clementine
Typed Letter, signed
Whitehall (London), 10, Downing Street, 10th November 1942. Typed letter, signed by Clementine Churchill to English portrait artist Frank O. Salisbury (1874-1962): "My dear Mr. Salisbury,/I went to Burlington House last/Saturday and saw your portrait of my husband./I think it is quite excellent. It is marvellously/like him. I do congratulate you, and also thank/you for having made such a wonderful record of/what he looks like in these tremendous days./Yours Sincerely,/Clementine S. Churchill"; approximately 8 x 6 in. (203 x 152 mm) (sight). Creasing from an old folds.

Together with:

Churchill, Clementine
Typed Letter, signed
Whitehall (London), 10, Downing Street, 19th February, 1943. Typed letter, signed by Clementine Churchill to Frank O. Salisbury: "My dear Mr. Salisbury,/Thank you so much for/sending the proof of my/husband's portrait. It was/kind of you to think of me./Yours very sincerely,/Clementine S. Churchill", and with a postscript in Clementine's hand, "I think it is quite/excellent. Could you tell/me if the reproductions/are to be made in large/numbers & also where/I can obtain them?/I would like to give/them to several/people instead of/photographs. It has/been much admired./I'm so happy & grateful that/a really living portrait/of my Husband exactly/as he is to-day has/at last been/achieved"; approximately 6 1/2 x 4 1/2 in. (165 x 114 mm) (sight).

Each letter in mat and in frame, 22 x 22 in. (559 x 559 mm), with three other documents, including: a typed letter, signed by Winston Churchill's personal secretary, E.S. Layton, to Salisbury, dated January 1, 1945, informing him: "The Prime Minister has now had the oppurtunity of seeing your letter...He asks me to thank you very much for meeting his wishes in the matter, and to say that he does not think anything could be better than the portrait showing the siren suit."; a typed letter, signed by R.W. Moore, Headmaster of Harrow School (Churchill's alma mater), to Salisbury, dated November 22, 1946, accepting the portrait on behalf of the school: "It is a great and noble piece of work and we are proud and happy to possess it. The character which shines from the face grows on one the deeper acquaintance with it becomes."; a handwritten list related to Churchill's portrait.

Frank O. Salisbury painted the Prime Minister on more occasions than any other artist, and was responsible for two of the most iconic images of him: The Siren Suit (1945), and Blood, Sweat and Tears (1943).