BRITISH STEEL

Alexander Van Armstrong’s first successful experiment with a giant portrait head was his portrait of a British steel worker. It was purchased directly from the artist by a member of the Sainsbury supermarket family circa 1996.

Soon after an important Norwegian diplomat and art collector, Marius Hauge, began to sponsor a series of giant portrait heads of Old Time heavyweight boxer, Sonny Liston.

Later upon the artist’s arrival in New York City, Marius Hauge would sponsor a series of giant portrait heads of Sir Winston Churchill.

Marius Hague’s father, Jens Christian Hauge, was the leader of The Norwegian Resistance during World War 2, and as such a confidant of Winston Churchill. 

As Norway’s first post war Minister of Defense, Jens Christian Hauge would prove to be a vigorous advocate of The Atlantic Charter.

Van Armstrong has produced a number of small Churchill portraits.

One of these is owned by Mindy Grossman at her 80 acre Mill Brook estate in the Hudson Valley, as featured in OPRAH MAGAZINE’s photo shoot of the artist’s first giant portrait head of Joe Louis, the predecessor to the now iconic Joe Louis 2.

Two further small Churchill portraits are owned by Lucy Holt. Visitors to her fabled 3000 acre estate in Straloch, Perthshire, Scotland get to view them in the company of the artist’s first giant portrait head of Muhammad Ali.