Sold – A Photograph of Churchill, Signed in Washington on January 1, 1942

The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, signaling the end of the United States' observer status in the global conflict, now truly a World War. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, relieved that America was now fully engaged, immediately made plans to visit President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington to discuss the war effort and insure that America would pursue a "Europe first" strategy. FDR agreed to host Churchill at the White House, and Churchill was soon on his way via the battleship Duke of York. The sea journey to the conference, codenamed "ARCADIA," took ten days. Churchill and party arrived in Washington during the late afternoon of December 22, and he and FDR began a round of strategy sessions. On December 26, Churchill spoke to a joint session of Congress, making no attempt to hide his pleasure in the U.S. entry into the war: "It is not given to us to peer into the mysteries of the future. Still I avow my hope and faith, sure and inviolate, that in the days to come the British and American people will for their own safety and for the good of all walk together in majesty, in justice and in peace." He received a thunderous ovation.   

On the afternoon of December 28, Churchill departed Washington by train, bound for Canada. On the 30th he addressed the Canadian House of Commons. His reception in Ottawa was welcoming, and in his speech he mocked the defeatist French generals who predicted Britain's defeat by saying 'England would have her neck rung like a chicken' by Hitler. "Some chicken! Some neck!" was Churchill's retort, which drew much laughter and applause. Immediately upon the conclusion of his speech, Churchill was ushered into the Speaker's chamber, where he found Yousuf Karsh waiting with his camera. The result – bulldog Churchill glowering at the camera – is one of the most famous photographic portraits of the 20th century.   

After Ottawa, Churchill returned to the White House to continue his discussions with Roosevelt. It was agreed that to win the war, the prime objective was the defeat of Nazi Germany. On New Year's Day 1942, Churchill approved Roosevelt's draft declaration establishing a "United Nations" of Allied Powers,  pledging themselves "not to make a separate armistice or peace with the enemies" in order to defend "life, liberty, independence and religious freedom, and to preserve human rights and justice in their own lands as well as in other lands." Churchill later commented: "The Declaration could not by itself win battles, but it set forth who we were and what we were fighting for."   

An 8 by 10 inch black and white photograph of Churchill at his desk in Downing Street, signed  in Washington and dated on January 1, 1942. This is the only photograph of Churchill signed during these meetings, which are referred to as the Arcadia Conference, that we have ever seen. Two weeks later, Churchill returned to London.