Churchill kin, authors to gather for St. Louis symposium
From Illinois Business Journal news services
Winston Churchill’s great-grandson and five other prominent Churchill authors as well as a famous Churchill dramatist will appear at “The Multifaceted Life and Legacy of Sir Winston Churchill,” a symposium being held Feb. 12 and 13, at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis.
The symposium is sponsored by the National Churchill Museum in Fulton.
“To have so many distinguished authorities on Churchill at one event is a rare opportunity for those who are interested in this remarkable statesman to receive some great insights into his life and achievements,” says Dr. Jim Williams, executive director of the National Churchill Museum. “We hope many people will plan to spend the day with us for this fascinating look at various aspects of Churchill’s life and legacy.”
The symposium will begin with a reception and show by Randy Otto as Sir Winston Churchill from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 12, at the Kemper Museum.
Following drinks and hors d’oeuvres, Otto will perform as Churchill in the one-man show “Painting as a Pastime: Banishing the Black Dog” and take questions.
Tickets for the event are $50 per person and must be purchased by Tuesday, Feb. 9.
The following day symposium presentations will run from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Authors holding sessions include:
• Jonathan Sandys, Churchill’s great-grandson and son of Julian Sandys, co-author of “God and Churchill: How the Great Leader’s Sense of Divine Destiny Changed His Troubled World and Offers Hope for Ours”;
• Warren Docktor from the University of Cambridge who wrote, “Winston Churchill and the Islamic World”;
• Larry Arnn, president of Hillsdale College, author of “Churchill’s Trial: Winston Churchill and the Salvation of Free Government”;
• James W. Muller, political science professor at the University of Alaska in Anchorage, who edited a new edition of Churchill’s “River War: An Historical Account of the Reconquest of the Soudan”;
• Michael Neiberg, history professor at the U.S. Army War College, author of “Potsdam: The End of World War II and the Remaking of Europe”; and
• Simon Read, award-winning former newspaper reporter who wrote, “Winston Churchill Reporting: Adventures of a Young War Correspondent.”
The cost to attend the symposium is $25, which covers lunch in the Museum Atrium. Attendees may register by calling Meda Young at (573) 592-5602 or by registering online at https://events.membersolutions.com/event_register.asp?content_id=61488.
These events will be the culmination of “The Paintings of Sir Winston Churchill,” he most significant collection of Churchill paintings ever exhibited in North America, which opened at the Kemper Art Museum Nov. 13 and will close Feb. 14.
For general information about the exhibition, which will also give directions and parking information for the show and Symposium, visit kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu/Churchill.
The National Churchill Museum on the campus of Westminster College in Fulton, Mo., is the only North American institution fully devoted to immortalizing the life and work of Winston Churchill. The heart of the museum is the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, a 17th century Christopher Wren church left in ruins from German bombings during World War II. The house of worship was brought stone by stone from England to Westminster and restored on campus in 1969.
Beneath the church is a state-of-the-art museum that combines interactive technology to tell Churchill’s story through sight, sound and touch.
Adjacent to the National Churchill Museum stands a sculpture by Edwina Sandys, Churchill’s granddaughter, entitled Breakthrough, which was constructed from eight sections of the Berlin Wall to commemorate the demise of the “Iron Curtain” that Sir Winston had predicted. Visitors may also enjoy the historic gymnasium where Churchill delivered his world famous “Iron Curtain Speech” in 1946 on another part of campus.
For more information about the National Churchill Museum, visit www.nationalchurchillmuseum.org or on Facebook/Churchill Museum and Twitter @ChurchillMuseum.
