London exhibitions reveals Winston Churchill's life as a painter

As Britain's wartime leader, Winston Churchill was known for his stirring speeches, but a new London exhibition explores another side to his creativity – as a passionate and prolific artist.

The exhibition opening Saturday at the Wallace Collection will be the most significant display of the statesman's paintings for more than 60 years, including over 50 canvases, many of them rarely seen in public.

Churchill first tried painting during World War I after he resigned from the government over the 1915 failed Dardanelles naval attack.

This was a "very difficult time in his life" when "he suddenly finds himself with all this unwanted leisure time," Lucy Davis, co-curator of the exhibition, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Gallery assistants pose for a photograph beside an easel used by Winston Churchill at the "Winston Churchill: The Painter" exhibition at the Wallace Collection in central London, U.K., May 20, 2026. (AFP Photo)