The sculptor who infuriated Winston Churchill by befriending his greatest political enemies

Countries & Cities · Published 15 October 2026 · Updated 25 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Clare Sheridan was Winston Churchill’s only female cousin, yet her radical politics and secret trips to Bolshevik Russia nearly destroyed their relationship. While Churchill railed against the Soviet regime, Sheridan was inside the Kremlin, sculpting the very revolutionaries he despised, sparking a scandal that left her socially ostracized in London.

Born in 1885 to Moreton Frewen and Clara Jerome, Clare Sheridan was a cousin to Winston Churchill. After the tragic death of her husband, Wilfred Sheridan, at the Battle of Loos in 1915, she turned to sculpture to rebuild her life. By 1920, she had become a vibrant artist in London, known for hosting Bohemian gatherings. Her artistic ambition led her to pursue prominent subjects, including her cousin Winston, but her political curiosity soon took a more controversial turn.

In the summer of 1920, while Churchill served as Secretary of State for War and campaigned fiercely against the Bolsheviks, Sheridan secretly engaged with the Soviet trade delegation in London. She became infatuated with the movement and traveled to Moscow, where she sculpted top Bolshevik leaders, including Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, and Lev Kamenev. Churchill was incensed by her actions, viewing her association with these figures as a betrayal. Upon her return to England, she faced social shunning and a cold shoulder from her cousin, who refused to meet with her.

The rift between the two was deep, with Sheridan writing a bitter letter from the RMS Aquitania in 1921, expressing her sense of abandonment. Despite this, their relationship eventually mended. By November 1942, during the height of the Second World War, the two had reconciled. Sheridan visited Churchill at the underground War Rooms to sculpt his likeness, a project he jokingly dubbed 'Prime Minister by Obstreperous Anarchist.' This moment captured the endurance of their bond, which survived decades of political tension and personal estrangement.

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