Shadows on a Staircase in Southern France 

Winston Churchill painted Shadows on a Staircase in Southern France, a landscape bathed in sunlight, but also cut through with shadow. Churchill turned to painting later in life as a way to relieve stress and anxiety. How does the act of painting relate to the act of seeing for someone who wielded considerable power on the world stage? Churchill's landscapes, devoid of people, possess an intimacy and quietness quite distinct from his bombastic persona. His paintings suggest a need to find solace in something that can be controlled; unlike the vagaries of politics, the canvas awaits direction. As Churchill noted, "If you are ever overtaken by troubles, seek out some deserted garden… then plant and hoe and rake and water." Here, in the South of France, we might think about how the shadows speak to the complexities of identity. Churchill, a figure synonymous with British power, sought refuge in the light and color of a landscape far removed from the battlefields of Europe.