Initial Reading
Read the following text as quickly as you can, and underline the topic sentences or the key words in order to understand the main ideas of the text. Then complete the exercises that follow.
[1] In 1954, Graham Sutherland was commissioned to paint a full-length portrait of Sir Winston Churchill.The 1,000 guineas fee for the painting was funded by donations from members of the House of Commons and House of Lords, and was presented to Churchill by both Houses of Parliament at a public ceremony in Westminster Hall on his 80th birthday on 30 November 1954.
[2] Sutherland worked from photographs by Elsbeth Juda and took his preliminary materials back to his studio to create the final work on a large square canvas, the shape chosen to figuratively represent Churchill’s solidity, reflecting a remark that Churchill made, “I am a rock”.
[3] The pose, with Churchill grasping the arms of his chair, recalls the statue of US President Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. Churchill is shown scowling, which makes him a bit threatening, slightly slumped forward, surrounded by gray, brown and black tones.
[4] Churchill’s wife viewed the completed portrait on 20 November 1954, and took a photograph back to her husband. It was his first view of the work, and he was deeply upset. He described it as “filthy” and“malignant”. With only 10 days to go, he sent a note to Sutherland rejecting the portrait and stating that the ceremony would go ahead without the portrait. Sutherland maintained that he honestly painted what he saw. MP Charles Doughty persuaded Churchill that the presentation had to go ahead, to avoid offending the donors.
[5] The presentation ceremony at Westminster Hall was recorded by the BBC. In his acceptance speech,Churchill remarked on the unprecedented honor shown to him, and described the painting (in a remark often considered a backhanded compliment) as “a remarkable example of modern art”. Other reactions were mixed, with some critics praising the strength of its likeness, but others condemned it as a disgrace.
[6] The painting was originally intended to hang in the Houses of Parliament after Churchill’s death, but had been given to Churchill as a personal gift and he took it away to Chartwell, where it was never displayed. Churchill died at ninety in January 1965 and Lady Churchill followed him in 1977. Shortly after her death, it became clear that Lady Churchill had destroyed the painting within a year of it arriving at Chartwell, breaking it into pieces to avoid causing further distress to her husband. Lady Churchill had also destroyed earlier portraits of her husband that she disliked. The public learned what had happened to Sutherland’s painting, a heated argument broke out. Many commentators were aghast at the destruction of a work of art, (they were so frightened that they didn’t know what to say).Sutherland condemned it as an act of vandalism, a destruction. The artistic community, shocked and angry, claimed that the destruction of the picture had been a crime. Historians said that they regretted the disappearance of a historical document.
[7] All agreed that the Churchills didn’t have the right to do what they had done. Well—did they? A good part of the public felt that the owner of a portrait had the right to get rid of it if it made him so unhappy.The question, however, has been raised many times before: who has the right to a work of art—the sitter, the owner, the donor or the artist who created it? And when the painting is the portrait of a historical figure, should the right of posterity be considered, as the historians claimed?
New Words
intend /ɪn
tend/ vi.打算，意欲
Hartwell /
hɑ:(r)twel/ n.[地名]哈特韦尔
display /dɪ
spleɪ/ vt.展览
distress /dɪ
stres/ n.痛苦
commentator /
kɒmənteɪtə(r)/ n.（电台的）时事评论员
aghast /ə
gɑ:st/ adj.惊呆的
destruction /dɪ
strʌkʃn/ n.破坏
frightened /
fraɪtnd/ adj.害怕的，惊恐的
condemn /kən
dem/ vt.谴责
vandalism /
vændəlɪzəm/ n.故意破坏
historian /hɪ
stɔ:riən/ n.历史学家
disappearance /
dɪsə'pɪərəns/ n.消失
historical /hɪ
stɒrɪkl/ adj.历史的
sitter /
sɪtə(r)/ n.被画像的模特
donor /
dəʊnə(r)/ n.捐赠者
posterity /pɒ
sterəti/ n.子孙后代
claim /kleɪm/ v.声称，断言
Phrases and Expressions
1. intend to do... 打算做……
2. break out 爆发
3. be aghast at 被……吓得目瞪口呆
4. condemn... as... 把……谴责为
5. the right to do... 做……的权利
6. a good part of 大部分
7. get rid of 除掉
Related Information
1. Graham Sutherland：格雷厄姆·萨瑟兰(1903—1980)，英国画家。他因富有想象力的抽象风景画而闻名。在类似《荆棘树》（Thorn Trees）这样的作品中，他以明亮的色调绘制了奇异的形状，以表达超自然的神秘情绪。其他作品包括为北安普顿郡圣马太教堂所作的《耶稣受难像》，以及为考文垂大教堂设计的挂毯《光辉耶稣》（ Christ in Glory）。
2. Winston Churchill：温斯顿·丘吉尔(1874—1965)，英国政治家、历史学家、画家、演说家、作家、记者。1940—1945年和1951—1955年两度出任英国首相，被认为是20世纪最重要的政治领袖之一，领导英国人民赢得了第二次世界大战，是“雅尔塔会议三巨头”之一，战后发表《铁幕演说》，揭开了冷战的序幕。他写的《不需要的战争》获1953年诺贝尔文学奖，著有《第二次世界大战回忆录》16卷、《英语民族史》24卷等。
3. House of Commons：英国国会的下院。英国国会由三大部分组成，分别是君主、作为上院的上议院，以及下议院，当中又以下议院最具影响力。下议院是一个通过民主选举产生的机构，里面共有650名成员，称为国会议员，常用的英文简写是“MP”（Members of Parliament）。
4. House of Lords：贵族院，是英国国会的上院。上议院有大约700多名非选举产生的议员，当中包括英国国教会的26名大主教或主教以及600多名贵族。上议院始创于14世纪，并存续至今。
5. Elsbeth Juda：英国女摄影家。
6. Abraham Lincoln：亚伯拉罕·林肯（1809—1865），美国政治家、战略家、第16任总统。林肯是首位共和党籍总统，在任期间主导废除了美国黑人奴隶制。