Winston Churchill began to paint shortly after one of his most ignominious disasters - his mismanagement of the Gallipoli campaign as First Lord of the Admiralty in 1916. Thereafter he produced over five hundred paintings. They might not have been Old Masters, but they gave a unique insight into Churchill's character.
Recently presenter Andrew Marr has had to recover from a serious stroke that left him with speech difficulties as well as losing the use of one hand. One of the ways he could recover from the trauma was to paint himself. Thus it seemed especially appropriate that he should present a program of this kind.
We learned how Churchill devoted his entire attention to painting, especially during the so-called "Wilderness Years" of the 1930s when he was out of government and apparently washed up politically. His works could be florid (reflecting the romantic side of his nature), but contained dark elements as well, reminding us of how he suffered from the "Black Dog" of depression.
He not only spent much of his time at Chartwell painting, he traveled frequently to the south of France and to Marrakech in Morocco, where he took an active pleasure in capturing the vivid light and unique landscapes.
When he became Prime Minister once again in 1940, Churchill had to put his artistic leanings on hold; it was not until he was voted out of office five years later that he could resume them. Even then, during his seventies, his paintings reflected his dark feelings - that he had somehow been ignored by the nation he loved so much.
Churchill continued to paint until his ninetieth year, even when his eyesight failed and he found it difficult to wield a paint-brush. Since his death in 1965, his paintings have appreciated in value; at an auction sale in 2014, an image of the goldfish pond at Chartwell fetched over $2m.
This program made us understand the significance of painting, both for Churchill and Marr, as a means of coping with life's extremities, as well as trying to realize their artistic leanings. Definitely worth watching.