Sir Winston Churchill by Ivor Roberts-Jones

Ivor Roberts-Jones
1916-1996 | British

Sir Winston Churchill

Numbered "143" (on base)
Bronze with a brown patina on white stone base

“My dear friends, this is your hour.” These were Winston Churchill’s words as he spoke on the evening of the Allied victory in Europe, and so ended the Second World War. A man of undeniable strength and resilience, Winston Churchill stands as one of the greatest leaders of the modern world. This important bronze masterfully captures the man’s irrepressible air of determination and indomitable character. Crafted by Ivor Roberts-Jones, the sculpture is an edition of the original maquette for the large-scale monument of the prime minister found in Parliament Square. One of England's most recognizable public monuments, it stands in awesome tribute to one of the greatest wartime heroes in history.

The original maquette was crafted by Roberts-Jones in 1971, and it was from this preliminary model that he created his monumental bronze. Following the monument's unveiling, the sculpture was so popular that a series of cast versions of the maquette were created. These were subsequently offered exclusively to Roberts-Jones' clients and the original subscribers to Churchill’s recently published Collected Works. This exceptional example is numbered 143 from the limited series of 1500 that were produced.

It was in 1967, two years after Churchill's death, that the commemorative sculpture of Churchill was first envisioned, and it was decided that Parliament Square was the most appropriate area. In fact, Churchill himself had suggested the location before his death. Eight sculptors were invited to submit designs and compete for the high profile commission. Roberts-Jones’s maquette was shortlisted, and, after a few small design changes, he was officially awarded the commission in March 1971.

Ivor Roberts-Jones rose to prominence in 1961 thanks to an influential commission from Lord Beaverbrook for a bust of the British playwright Somerset Maugham, and he earned his first full-scale commission in 1964 for a sculpture of the British painter Augustus John. After its completion in 1967, Roberts-Jones was elected as an associate of the Royal Academy - he became a full member in 1973, following the completion of his Churchill monument. This maquette is an extraordinary symbol of the sculptor's single greatest achievement.

Circa 1971

24 1/4" high x 9" wide x 8" deep