Height of head: 16cm (6.2in)
Patinated bronze. Signed ‘2 Tristram Lewis'. Number 2 of 25. Raised on a Portland stone base. Height overall: 27.5cm (11in). £8,800
Patinated bronze. Signed ‘3 Tristram Lewis'. Number 3 of 25. Raised on a marble base. Height overall: 27.5cm (11in). £8,800
The Armoury of St James’s is pleased to present a new bronze Churchill bust created as part of a new landmark equestrian statue for Blenheim Palace. The sculptor Tristram Lewis (b.1964) has produced the portrait head as part of a major project to create the only mounted sculpture of Churchill. The project is enthusiastically supported by His Grace the Duke of Marlborough and it is fully intended that the resultant equestrian statue will be sited in the park at Blenheim Palace.
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Tristram’s first objective was to study Churchill's face. Several small maquettes ensued, resulting in the release of this approximately half life size bust of Churchill in bronze. This study will ultimately become Churchill's head for the completed Blenheim sculpture.
Having dealt in Churchill portraiture for over thirty years by such acclaimed 20th century practioners as Sir William Reid Dick, Ivor Roberts-Jones and Oscar Nemon, we are confident that this new work will stand out as an exceptional addition to the canon both on its own merits and due to the context in which it has been conceived.
Tristram’s notable works to date include his life size mounted sculpture of the champion jockey Frankie Dettori unveiled at Ascot in 2023 by Her Majesty Queen Camilla. He has also carried out in 2023 the Grenadier Guards’ commission for a mounted statuette of their Colonel, HRH Duke of Edinburgh in full dress which served as the Grenadiers’ coronation gift to HM King Charles III.
Tristram’s portrait head is the culmination of a life long interest in Churchill and his extraordinary achievements, while the Blenheim statue represents for Tristram the greatest honour, not least for the reason that his younger son is a serving officer in the Queen's Royal Hussars, 'Churchill's Own' - WSC having served in one of the antecedent regiments, the 4th Hussars. Moreover Tristram considers the casting of the portrait head as part of this major work to be sited at the place of Churchill’s birth as a career defining commission.