This statue is located on Heath Street north from the Hampstead Tube Station, in front of the Catto Art Gallery.
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"A copy of the well-loved bronze sculpture titled 'Allies' of Sir Winston Churchill and Roosevelt on their bench sited between Old and New Bond Streets sold at Bonhams for £409,250, double its estimate, to an American buyer yesterday 14th November 2012.
This makes the sculpture the top Modern British work of art to sell in London this week.
The Bonhams sale of 20th Century British and Irish Art featured 123 lots and achieved a total of £3.2m. Among other top lots was a Peter Doig painting Road House which sold for £265,250; a Walter Sickert, Woman in Profile with downcast eyes for £229,250; a Graham Sutherland, Head on a Balcony for £217,250; and Sir Alfred Munnings, The haymakers went for £109,250.
'Allies' sculpture by Lawrence Holofcener (born 1926) was unveiled in 1995 by H.R.H. The Princess Margaret. Now a major London landmark, it was gifted to the City of Westminster by the Bond Street Association to commemorate fifty years of peace. It embodies the 'special relationship' between Britain and the USA.
'Allies' depicts Sir Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt in relaxed conversation and is a fitting tribute to the celebrated politicians who together implemented the Atlantic Charter. The Charter was first issued in August 1941 and set goals for peace in the post-war world including freedom from fear and want and the abandonment of the use of force. Churchill and Roosevelt's bond secured a strong transatlantic partnership that enhanced international security and helps to explain the 'special relationship' that is frequently discussed today. In keeping with their principles, 'Allies' is an approachable sculpture with the space in between the two leaders open for the viewer to occupy.
Lawrence Holofcener was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and has exhibited across the U.S.A. as well as in the U.K. The artist's sculpture frequently depicts famous individuals and in 1985 Laurence Olivier unveiled Holofcener's portrait, Faces of Olivier, at the Chichester Festival Theater."
We think this statue portrays both men at about 75% of life size. FDR and Churchill are dressed in period clothing of the 1940s. Their faces are turned toward one another, while Sit Winston leans in for what we are sure is a deeply funny and acerbic quip. The men are obviously good friends who trust each other enough to let their guards down around each other. They seem relaxed in one another's company.
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"‘Allies’ sculptor Lawrence Holofcener reveals how he sat in front of his own famous work to create maquettes
Published: 25 April, 2013
by RICHARD OSLEY
THE sculptor who created the famous Allies sculpture in the West End has revealed how he went to Bond Street with clay and tools to make copies of his own work to sell to collectors.
Lawrence Holofcener told how former Hampstead art gallery owner Gillian Catto had convinced him to sell maquettes of the work, a sculpture of Sir Winston Churchill talking to Franklin D. Roosevelt on a bench.
Normally, maquette models are made before a sculptor works on the final piece.
But Mr Holofcener told auctioneers Bonhams that he had not made any beforehand because he was “impetuous” and so had to spend five days in front of his own work making quarter-sized replicas.
One of the 50 exclusive replicas he made will go under the hammer on May 29 at Bonhams and is expected to fetch at least £25,000. Full-size copies go for six figure sums.
The Allies sculpture was at one time positioned outside the Catto Gallery, founded by Gillian Catto, in Heath Street.
Mr Holofcener, 87, said: “Allies sat on Bond Street for several years until Gill Catto asked me for a maquette thinking to sell them. It didn’t exist, I told her.
"She asked if I would consider creating one, marketing an edition of 50. I thought she would be lucky to sell two or three, then Gill’s husband offered to buy one.”
He added: “I modelled two unclothed clay figures and paused, stumped: how was I to create an exact quarter-life-size without having my life-size in front of me?
"Simple: Julia (the sculptor’s wife) and I drove to Bond Street from our Isle of Wight home, plus table, tools, clay and the little bench. We set it all before the life-size sculpture and I got to work.”
The sculptor said he was questioned by passers-by.
He was asked: “Are you an art student?” (He’d say: “Do I look like a student?”)
“Have you got the artist’s permission?” (“The artist is dead.”)
“How about the City of Westminster?” (“I’ll be gone before they catch me.”)
“After four to five days of work and chatter I was finished and to date almost 40 have been sold. So much for my two or three.”
Ms Catto passed the gallery, which still bears her name, to two employees, Imogen Green and Iain Barratt, in 2009.
The Allies in Bond Street, a gift from the Bond Street Association to mark 50 years of peace, was unveiled in 1995 by Princess Margaret. It is now a favourite photo point for tourists in the West End."