The Château of Saint-Georges-Motel was the summer home of Consuelo and her second husband Jacques Balsan, an aviator and industrialist. Consuelo's first husband had been Winston Churchill's cousin, the 9th Duke of Marlborough, whom she had married in 1895 and divorced in 1920. Consuelo and Winston remained very close friends regardless The photograph of Winston and Consuelo on the window blind was taken by Maze during a summer visit to the Château.

The striking architecture of the 17th century Château in contrast to its surrounding moat, provided Churchill with an ideal opportunity to demonstrate his fluid handling and attention to detail.

Consuelo recalled in her memoirs, The Glitter and the Gold, 1953: "Winston decided he wanted to paint our moat, after careful thought he made up his mind that he preferred the water rough to smooth. Sending to Dreux for a photographer, he placed two gardeners in a boat and told them to create ripples with their oars...With characteristic thoroughness Winston persisted until all possibilities had been exhausted and the photographer, hot and worried, could be heard muttering, 'Mais ces Anglais sont donc tous maniac'.