Final Touches : Churchill Art to Go on Display

White-gloved assistants wheeled oil paintings in on dollies Thursday as the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library near Simi Valley prepared to present the largest exhibit of Sir Winston Churchill’s paintings ever on the West Coast.

Library Director Ralph C. Bledsoe and museum curator Ann Bethel stood in the library’s gallery area and directed preparations for the showing of Churchill art and artifacts that opens to the public Saturday.

The exhibit, called “Painting as a Pastime: The Art and Treasures of Sir Winston Churchill,” features 32 oil paintings the former British prime minister did between 1915 and 1951.

In the library basement, Bethel’s staff applied final touches to the historical objects planned for the display, including a paint tube of Churchill’s favorite color, cobalt blue; two cigars, and a soup- and cigar-stained jumpsuit once worn by the British leader, who died in 1965 at the age of 90.

Bledsoe, who culled the individual pieces and paintings from a variety of public and private collections, said the library’s namesake was particularly interested in honoring the man who led Britain through World War II.

“President Reagan has been such a fan of Churchill’s,” Bledsoe said. “He says, ‘I know I’m known as the great communicator. But Churchill was the greatest communicator.’ ”

Reagan will meet with Churchill’s grandson, Winston S. Churchill, at the library tonight for a reception to officially open the exhibit, which will remain at the library through Feb. 21.

“This is the exciting time when you begin to hang it and it starts to take shape,” Bledsoe said as he watched the artwork placed on the walls. He said the exhibit’s collection took countless telephone calls all over the world the past few months.

Some of the artwork came directly from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park, N. Y., where it was recently on display, Bledsoe said. More came from family members in Great Britain, private collections and historic institutions in England.

“This is our first exhibit here in the theater gallery,” Bethel said. “So it’s kind of fun to design the space and create the ambience.”

Churchill’s paintings, signed WSC, range from simple portraits to strikingly verdant gardens to seascapes and still-life scenes of bottles and glasses.

One 1930s painting highlighted in the monument to Reagan’s eight years in office depicts four large gray elephants cavorting about a ring.

The gallery will also display a variety of personal artifacts, including one of the celebrated “Siren Suits,” made especially for Churchill by Turnbull & Asser of London.

Churchill first began to appreciate the jumpsuit-like tailoring and thick velveteen material during World War II, when he rarely left the war rooms and needed something that he could quickly put on if a crisis cut short a catnap, Bethel said.

The comfort and warmth of the garment kept it a Churchill favorite even after the war. He often wore one of the 30 specially made jumpsuits when writing, painting or relaxing.

The green suit on display at the library was personally handed to Reagan on a recent trip to London. It is on loan from Mohamed Al Fayed, owner of Turnbull & Asser and chairman of Harrods of Knightsbridge.

Bethel stood next to the suit, which is hung on a customized mannequin that approximates Churchill’s 19-inch neck, 46-inch chest and 48-inch waist and hips, and pointed out small stains and burn marks down the front of the garment.

“You can see the little burns and the soup stains,” she said. “And, as a museum person, you get to the point where it’s like, ‘Do I clean it or is that part of the artifact?’ ”

During the exhibit, the library will also feature a 54-minute film on Churchill and his artwork in a theater adjacent to the gallery. Paid library visitors will be able to see the Churchill paintings, artifacts and film at no extra charge.