Churchill & Roosevelt Bench

The Allies bronze bench sculpture in London depicts Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt seated with an interactive empty space between them. Created at his own expense by self-taught sculptor Lawrence Holofcener, the original statue on New Bond Street was unveiled by Princess Margaret on May 2, 1995, marking 50 years of peace after World War II. During the war, the leaders met for 113 days and exchanged almost 2,000 messages.

London · from the walk “Heights, Heaths & Hidden Lanes” · Generated

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Hampstead High Street, London NW3 1LJ

When was the Allies sculpture of Churchill and Roosevelt unveiled on New Bond Street?

Take a look at this bronze bench right here on Hampstead High Street. Two of the most powerful leaders of the twentieth century... just sitting together, chatting, like old friends who've bumped into each other on a Sunday stroll. Churchill holds his trademark cigar, Roosevelt leans back casually... and there, right between them, is an empty space. That space is for You. Go ahead, take a seat. Thousands of people have done exactly that.

This sculpture is called "Allies," and it was the vision of British-American sculptor Lawrence Holofcener, who wanted intimacy rather than grandeur. And here's the remarkable thing about Holofcener... he wasn't even a sculptor for most of his life! He was a Broadway actor, playing Cornelius Hackl in "Hello, Dolly!" alongside Carol Channing. He wrote songs for Sid Caesar's legendary television show and co-wrote the Broadway score for "Mister Wonderful," which introduced Sammy Davis Junior to the stage. Sculpture came late to him, at age fifty one, and he was entirely self-taught.

The original "Allies" sits on New Bond Street in central London, unveiled by Princess Margaret on the second of May, nineteen ninety five, to mark fifty years of peace after World War Two. Holofcener created the work at his own expense, and at first it remained unsold. Then the Bond Street Association gave it a trial run... and it was SO popular they purchased it permanently.

Now, look closely at Roosevelt. The sculpture shows him as he would like to have been seen... sitting casually as if he'd just wandered over. In truth, he was paralysed by polio and mostly used a wheelchair, but he refused to be seen in public in one. There are almost no photographs of him seated in a wheelchair. This bench gives him the dignity he always fought for.

And here's a detail most people miss. During the war, these two leaders spent around one hundred and thirteen days together and exchanged nearly two thousand messages. After one of their meetings, Roosevelt cabled Churchill with a wonderful line... "It is fun to be in the same decade with you."

But the story of this particular copy has its own Hampstead chapter. Holofcener later made seven copies of the sculpture, and one stood outside the Catto Gallery right here in Hampstead in twenty sixteen before it was sold to a hotel in the Lake District. And those miniature quarter-size versions? In twenty twelve, one sold at Bonhams auction house for over four hundred and nine thousand pounds... Double its estimate!

And there's one last mischievous detail. When Holofcener needed to create those miniatures, he drove from his Isle of Wight home to Bond Street with clay, tools, and a tiny bench, set up right in front of his own sculpture, and got to work. Passers-by asked if he had permission. He told them... "The artist is dead."

So go on... squeeze in between Winston and Franklin, snap a photo, and for just a moment, join the most important friendship of the twentieth century.

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