Churchill portrait valued at £800,000 on display

Over the course of his life Churchill was painted by artists including Sir William Orpen, John Singer Sargent, Walter Sickert and Sir Oswald Birley

A portrait of Sir Winston Churchill that could fetch up to an estimated £800,000 at auction has gone on display at Blenheim Palace.

The piece was painted by British artist Graham Sutherland in preparation for a work that was later destroyed.

It is on public display at Churchill's family home in Oxfordshire until 21 April, before it will be exhibited at Sotheby's venues in New York and London.

On June 6 it will go to auction with a guide price of £500,000 to £800,000.

The Houses of Parliament had commissioned Mr Sutherland to paint a portrait of the wartime prime minister for his 80th birthday in 1954.

An episode of hit Netflix drama The Crown revolved around the creation of the painting and showed Churchill's wife Clementine watching it go up in flames after it was unveiled.

Blenheim Palace will exhibit the work in the room where he was born 150 years ago.

Andre Zlattinger, Sotheby's head of modern British and Irish art, said: "The name Churchill evokes for each person a different snapshot of a multifaceted man.

"In this rare portrait, Churchill is caught in a moment of absent-minded thoughtfulness, and together with the backstory of its creation, it gives the impression of a man truly concerned with his image.

"This version shows Churchill closer to how he wished to be perceived, his less austere and gentler side, and so it is tempting to imagine how his reaction might have differed.

"Having remained within the close circles of the artist and the sitter for generations, the sale of this work is an opportunity to acquire a piece of history."