Sir Winston Churchill had taken up painting aged 40 during the summer of 1915 following his resignation from Government in the wake of the allied disaster at the Dardanelles. Under the tuition and guidance of some of the leading artists of the day including Sir John Lavery, Paul Maze, Sir William Nicholson, and Walter Sickert, painting would become a passion, a pastime and a tonic that would last for the rest of his life.

Such was his dedication to its pleasures and the consolation and peace that it could offer in times of despair and grief, that Churchill wrote two essays titled 'Hobbies' and 'Painting as a Pastime' which were first published in the Strand Magazine in 1921/22.

In 1948 Churchill finally agreed to the publication of these essays as a book, entitled Painting as a Pastime, along with colour reproductions of 18 of his paintings, including The Mill at Saint-Georges-Motel. 25,000 copies were published as a first edition by Odhams Press Limited and such was its popularity that five additional printings followed, and in 1950, 20,000 copies were published in the first US edition. (See the display case)

"We cannot aspire to masterpieces. We may content ourselves with a joy ride in a paint-box." - Winston Churchill, Painting as a Pastime.

Paul Maze's painting of Winston Churchill in the act of painting The Mill, is on display opposite along with a photograph in the display cabinet. “Paint like you write or speak. You can do it – every stroke of the brush must be a statement felt and seen…”Paul Maze, letter to Winston Churchill, 12 November 1936.