Blenheim Palace has unveiled a new sculpture to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Sir Winston Churchill’s birth.

The life size bronze statue, created by sculptor Paul Rafferty, is set in the gardens located on the South Lawn facing the Palace that Churchill loved and where he was born (30 Nov 1874) and the location of his engagement to Clementine Hozier.

The statue highlights Churchill’s love of painting and features a canvas of Churchill’s painting of Blenheim Palace Through the Branches of a Cedar. It is located where Churchill himself would have set his easel up to paint.

Paul Rafferty said: “I wanted to honour Sir Winston’s passion for the arts. By recreating his iconic painting in bas relief on the canvas, and surrounding him with the tools he cherished like the bespoke tin canisters that held his paint brushes, his favourite Pol Roger Champagne, his Stetson, cigar, and easel – I aimed to capture a vivid moment of his life at Blenheim, a place he loved deeply.”

Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was home to the Dukes of Marlborough since 1705, and is set in over 2,000 acres of ‘Capability’ Brown landscaped park and gardens.