Photos
Quotes
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Graham Sutherland : If you're engaged in a fight with something, then it is not with me. It's with your own blindness.
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Sir Winston Churchill : Why are you here?
Graham Sutherland : I understand you've rejected the painting.
Sir Winston Churchill : Yes I have.
Graham Sutherland : On what grounds?
Sir Winston Churchill : That is not a painting. It's a humiliation.
[Crosses to the painting and pulls down the cover]
Sir Winston Churchill : 'How shall I paint him today? Ah, sitting on a chair, producing a stool. A broken, sagging, pitiful creature, squeezing and squeezing!'
Graham Sutherland : That's not how it's being seen.
Sir Winston Churchill : That is how it is! And I will not accept it!
Graham Sutherland : I don't think it's wise to reject it. It was commissioned by the Members of the joint Houses of Parliament as a sign of respect.
Sir Winston Churchill : Well, they should have commissioned an artist who is respectful! Rather than a Judas wielding his murderous brush! Look at it! It is a betrayal of friendship! And an unpatriotic, treacherous, cowardly assault by the individualistic Left!
Graham Sutherland : As regards the friendship...
Sir Winston Churchill : Clearly there is none!
Graham Sutherland : I accepted this commission because I admired you and I came through the experience admiring you even more.
Sir Winston Churchill : [Sits on the sofa] You make monsters of everyone you admire?
Graham Sutherland : It's not vindictive. It's art. It's not personal.
Sir Winston Churchill : Well, you are a lost soul. A narcissist without direction or certainty.
Graham Sutherland : Please, sir. Don't overreact. Give it time. I showed those sketches to your wife throughout the process. She remarked on how accurate they were.
Sir Winston Churchill : That is the whole point.
[Rises]
Sir Winston Churchill : It is not a reasonably truthful image of me!
Graham Sutherland : It is, sir!
Sir Winston Churchill : It is not! It is cruel!
Graham Sutherland : Age is cruel!
[pauses]
Graham Sutherland : If you see decay, it's because there's decay. If you see frailty, it's because there's frailty. I can't be blamed for what is. And I refuse to hide and disguise what I see. If you're engaged in a fight with something, then it's not with me. It's with your own blindness.
Sir Winston Churchill : [Sits heavily down on the sofa] I think you should go.
[Sutherland leaves]
