Winston Churchill: Painting on the French Riviera

Absolutely fantastic book if you are interested in Winston Churchill, Art, The French Riviera. Easy to browse through, easy to read and full of information. very well researched by Paul Rafferty who is himself a well know artist with a gallery in St Paul de Vence. Beautifully presented and quality reproduced images of Churchill paintings and the photographs of the locations where the Great Man set up his easel. This will make a very good present for people in any age group.

Outstandingly illustrated and a real discussion and discovery of Churchill's Mediterranean paintings. Superb

Wonderfully researched and written.

This beautiful brilliantly conceived book by the artist Paul Rafferty is a ‘must buy ‘for anyone who like me admires Churchill’s paintings. I often I wonder what he’d have achieved with his life if he’d put down his brushes and done something else ... for example gone into politics.Churchill’s thinnest book ‘Painting as a Pastime ‘changed my life 30 years ago when I stumbled across it in a second hand bookshop in Lewis E Sussex .I had never painted- and had no interest in painting, but I read neither had he until into his 40s. I immediately went outs and bought paints, brushes, an easel and a beret and have never stopped painting ever since. This book really did change MY life! + lIn 2020 it has got me through my ‘lockdown life ‘

This is a fascinating and comprehensive account of Churchill's painting trips on the Riviera. As an authoritative account it surely has no equal and it must surely become the go-to reference source for art historians and Churchilliana devotees alike. Aside from its usefulness to academics and Churchill fans it gives an entertaining and informative insight into what made Churchill tick as an artist. Other artists will recognise Churchill's agonies and ecstasies, his paining processes, what attracted him to subjects for painting and the highs and lows of his development as an artist. I have also never seen in recent years a book so lavishly and lovingly illustrated.

This is an absolutely fabulous book is a must for any one who is interested in Churchill, painting or the South of France. It a pure triumph from artist Paul Rafferty who has spent almost five years of his life searching out the locations of Winstons paintings. The book is all the better for being written by an accomplished painter, as his insight and knowledge of the subject adds another dimension . I thoroughly recommend this beautiful book and think Churchill himself would have been proud of it!

Paul Rafferty has created the most fascinating insight in to Churchill’s work. Incredibly well researched and visually brilliant. I enjoyed this immensely and I really hope he follows up with a collection of WC works in Britain. Paul is a hugely successful artist in his own right - shows with Portland Gallery, London and is well worth checking out!

This is a beautiful book about Winston Churchill’s painting whilst in the French Riveria. Paul Rafferty a famous local artist who has discovered locations where Churchill painted. I really enjoyed the historical photographs of the French Riveria. The book is a perfect gift for anyone interested in art, Winston Churchill and the French Riveria.

Buy this book, it will give you hours, days, months, years of pleasure! It is so obvious this book was conceived and arranged by a painter - and one with detailed knowledge of and love for the area Churchill chose to paint, full of natural and built beauty. That such places as he painted exist confirms to me that heaven exists!It's a detective story too: Rafferty hunted out the locations Churchill depicted and presents photographs of them alongside each painting; comparisons of the two illuminate the mind and eye of the painter.Another thing that makes this book so outstanding is the high quality of the color reproduction of Churchill's paintings, and the fact that many of them are given their own (large) page - so that the book can be displayed and an individual work exposed for contemplation and pleasure.Above all, what this remarkable book offers is the privilege of sharing in the eye and soul of Churchill the man. After staring down monumental evil, after a lifetime of political struggle, this great personality has lost neither his humanity or his profound optimism. One feels it through the warmth, the energy and the luminous beauty of his remarkable paintings.

Having read all of the Churchill painting books, starting with the first one, Churchill: His Paintings by David Coombs, I can state unequivocally that Rafferty's new book is easily the most visually stunning. Rather than providing yet another dutiful overview of the paintings and their biographical context, Rafferty takes a far more interesting route. As a painter himself, he expertly covers such topics as paints, brushes and technique. He credits key artist mentors of Churchill's such as John Lavery with brief, engaging sketches. Most important, he memorably locates the paintings in situ, describing how he conducted his detective work in unfussy, engaging prose. Opening up this book on a cold dreary day in the Midwest (you'll find the experience equally rewarding in other contexts, I assure you) transports the reader to the South of France, where for four decades Churchill enjoyed working vacations during which he produced a significant subset of his wonderful paintings. Yet another amazing aspect of Churchill's life has been captured beautifully in this fantastic book.

Ie you are interested in Winston as a painter this is the book for you. It is so well produced that it shows the paintings and where they were painted in really outstanding reproductions without pages and pages of meaningless babble about nothing. This is certainly one of my favourite books about Winston and I have them all. Winston of course was quite fearless about tackling any subject irregardless of whatever the extent of what his talents might have been. His sense of colour was absolutely faultless. One of my favourites is one of his last. Its of his goldfish pond at Chartwell. his book is a " Must Buy " and a "Must have" and the Author is to be congratulated for a job well done.

Wonderful book, beautifully put together, meticulously researched, excellent read

A fabulous accounting of Churchill’s life we have never known much about….I would highly recommend…A delightful surprise….CBD