Art

An arresting bust, produced two years before Churchill's death. Cherne (1912-1999) was primarily an economist and public servant, serving four decades as the head of the International Rescue Committee. His sculptures were well esteemed and reached high places: his bust of Albert Schweitzer in the Smithsonian, Abraham Lincoln in the Cabinet Room of the White House, and John F. Kennedy in the National Portrait Gallery. It took Cherne 14 months to complete the sculpture of Churchill, which he called "the most complex I have undertaken... I tried to capture the war leader who undertook the impossible and was dismissed when it was completed. But national hero and political leader are only two facets I have tried to reflect. More importantly, I sought to reflect the penetrating vision of the historian, the stubborn individualist, the gifted artist and writer". The bronze original of the portrait head is in the White House, and the original plaster was given to Winston Churchill, who wrote to Cherne, "my compliments on the remarkable way in which you have achieved this work of art" (this information is from a flyer accompanying another example we have handled). The bust was made by Alva Museum Replicas, in three sizes (7.25 inches, the present 12.5 inches, and 18.5 inches, from base of plinth to top of bust), using the trademarked "Alvastone" plaster. Provenance: the collection of Steve Forbes. Bust, "Alvastone" plaster cast with bronze finish, 21 x 12 cm, on black wooden plinth, 11 x 9.5 cm; impressed artist's signature dated 1963 to rear neck. In excellent condition.