Coventry Cathedral artist who painted Churchill portrait that was secretly burnt gets blue plaque

The artist who designed the central tapestry of Christ In Glory In The Tetramorph for the rebuilt Coventry Cathedral has been honoured with a Blue Plaque by English Heritage. Graham Sutherland designed the piece for the new cathedral following the destruction of Coventry during the blitz. He also famously created a painting of Winston Churchill.

But the wartime Prime Minister despised the depiction of himself so much it was later burnt. The plaque is affixed to Sutherland's childhood residence at 8 Dorset Road, Merton Park, located in South London. His controversial depiction of Churchill was commissioned in 1954 for the Houses of Parliament; however, it was so disliked by the then-prime minister that his wife, Lady Clementine Churchill, arranged for its secretive destruction.



READ MORE: UK petrol and diesel car sales ban changed again - have your say A storyline in the acclaimed Netflix series 'The Crown' followed the story behind the painting, and last year, a preparatory sketch of Churchill by Sutherland fetched £660,000 at a Sotheby's auction. Educated at Goldsmiths' College during the 1920s, Sutherland served as an official war artist in WWII, capturing haunting scenes like those from the London Blitz in works such as Devastation, 1941: An East End Street. Sutherland died in February 1980, aged 76.

Commenting on his legacy, author and former English Heritage blue plaques panel member Rosemary Hill noted: "Graham Sutherland was a child of the south London suburbs who felt a very English longing for a half-remembered, half-imagined rural past. "In a Romantic tradition that descends from Samuel Palmer, Sutherland was perhaps the last Arts and Crafts artist, a master in tapestry and stained glass as well as an etcher and painter. "After his death, his reputation rose and fell – overshadowed sometimes by that of his more spectacular friend Francis Bacon.

It has now found its proper level, close to the heart of 20th century British art." The celebrated London blue plaques scheme, which traces its origins back to 1866, is reputedly the world's oldest such programme. 2025 will see such notables as actress Audrey Hepburn and glam rock icon Marc Bolan honoured with blue plaques.

These commemorative badges, contingent on a nod from the building's owner, are slated for installation throughout this year. In a historic move in 2024, the prestigious programme reached beyond its traditional London bounds. Daphne Steele, lauded as the NHS's first black matron, was fittingly commemorated with a plaque in Yorkshire.

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