Cecil Beaton

Picture Post, 23 November 1940;
Mary Soames, Clementine Churchill, Doubleday, London, 2002, fig.79.

Generally good. The lining card on which is the photograph is glued with tears, marks and stains. The photograph generally good and stable. The inscription is faded but legible.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any stat.mes nt made by Replica Shoes 's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Cecil Beaton was to take this photograph during a memorable shoot in the Drawing Room at 10 Downing Street. He had sessions with both Winston and Clementine in the summer of 1940. Some of the photographs were eventually published in Picture Post. Beaton was to write that their session ‘passed breezily and easily… the rooms were a delight with the sun streaming in from beneath the blinds onto bowls of sweet peas from Chartwell… Mrs Churchill, a bright unspoilt and girlish woman, is full of amusing and shrewd observation about people’, Buckie (ed.), Self Portrait with Friends: The Selected Diaries of Cecil Beaton, 1926-1974, London, p.74-79).

However, Beaton was then to write that when Clementine saw the eventual published article in Picture Post, although he had nothing to do with the text accompanying his photographs, she was greatly upset with him about how she appeared and what had been written (Mary Soames, Clementine Churchill, Doubleday, London, 2002, p.327). Interestingly, the fact that this image is signed by her, as a presentation photograph, and her telegram to him after he sent flowers following the outburst described, seems to contradict Beaton’s report of her reaction to it.