Ivor Roberts-Jones

Sir Winston Churchill Memorial By Ivor Roberts-Jones

Circa 1970

Ivor Roberts-Jones 1916-1996 British Sir Winston Churchill Numbered “132” (on base) Bronze with a brown patina on a stone base “My dear friends, this is your hour.” These were Wi...

This highly evocative bronze by Vincenzo Vela captures the deposed Emperor Napoléon on his deathbed, holding a map of Europe and lost in thought about what might have been. Remarkable among most portrayals of the exiled leader, this highly detailed sculpture depicts Napoléon at his most vulnerable. Nonetheless, Vela perfectly captures his still-heroic bearing, which imparts to this work a monumental quality and quiet dignity. The mate to this figure is the colossal marble at the Musée du Château de Malmaison, which was shown at the Paris Salon of 1867. The founder of the verismo movement in Italy, Vela was one of the great exponents of realism in sculpture. Born in Ligornetto, Switzerland in 1820, he studied under celebrated sculptor, Benedetto Cacciatori. He was also influenced both by the work of Tuscan sculptor Lorenzo Bartolini, who seamlessly combined neoclassicism with naturalism and the romantic painting of Francesco Hayez...

A bronze portrait of Sir Winston Churchill by Rufus Martin, 2023 This head and shoulders bronze bust is instantly recognizable as Sir Winston Churchill. He is wearing a British Warm greatcoat with epaulettes and has a half-smoked cigar in the left hand resting on his hip. His right hand is raised in his trade mark V-for-Victory salute. Signed ‘Rufus Martin 1/12’. Sir Winston Churchill (1874 –1965) was a British politician, army officer and writer. He was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, when he led Britain to victory in the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. Churchill represented five constituencies during his career as a Member of Parliament. Ideologically an economic liberal and imperialist, for most of his career he was a member of the Conservative Party, which he led from 1940 to 1955, but from 1904 to 1924 was a member of the Liberal Party. This portrait of Churchill by Rufus Martin is striking for its juxtaposition of this famous historical subject and the free and contemporary choice of presentation. Churchill’s tenure during the Second World War infused the nation with calm and confidence, providing the British people with strong leadership during its darkest hours. Martin succeeds in portraying Churchill’s unshakeable belief in a successful outcome for the Allies through his defiant stance, unwavering gaze and Victory V gesture. Together with the recognizable “Bulldog” facial features and broad shoulders, this bust captures the subject in terms of character as well as being an accurate physical portrait . Rufus Martin trained at Wimbledon College of the Arts, London, though his aptitude for 3D design and sculpture was apparent from a very young age. His mother, a portrait painter, showed him the portrait sculptures of Augusta Savage, Jacob Epstein and Augustine Rodin, which inspired him to create a bust of his late mentor, Michael Howells. He sculpts ‘intriguing individuals, always hoping to capture some element of their past or current struggles and to create something for the good of the community they inhabit and wherever possible for posterity’ – an ambition he has most successfully fulfilled with this powerful portrait. After leaving college in 2017, with first class honours, Martin has won many prestigious prizes including the Tiranti Prize at the FACE, the Signature Art Award, the Chelsea Arts Club show for ‘Amy’, the True Blue Show, the Salmagundi Open Show, New York, Green & Stone Summer Show, the Chelsea Arts Society Summer Show, RBA Rising Stars, the Royal Cambrian Academy Open, the Binny Mathews & Sons joint show, The Next Big Thing and has been published in the Kings House...

Untitled, undated bronze by American sculpture Abbott Pattison (1916-1999). Signed A. Pattinson, Firenze, 1/7.