An intimate study of Winston Churchill that has been in private hands for seven decades has gone on show in the room at Blenheim Palace in which Britain’s most famous prime minister was born, before being auctioned in June. It was the work of Graham Sutherland, one of the most highly regarded artists of his time. Sutherland was commissioned to paint Churchill by the Houses of Parliament to mark the wartime leader’s 80th birthday in November 1954. The final portrait was famously not to Churchill’s liking, who declared it a “remarkable example of modern art”, prompting dismissive laughter from Tory grandees. Instead of being hung in parliament, it was taken to Chartwell, Churchill’s home in Kent, and was later destroyed in a bonfire. An episode of hit Netflix drama the Crown revolved around the creation of the painting and showed Churchill’s wife Clementine watching it go up in flames following its unveiling. During several months that Sutherland spent at Chartwell working on the commission, he produced preliminary sketches and oil studies in preparation for the final work. Among them was a study of Churchill painted at an angle and looking pensive.