LONDON, 2 February 2021 – A painting by Winston Churchill now owned by American actress Angelina Jolie will go on auction, the famous art auction house Christie’s announced Monday.
Angelina Jolie is asking for between $2.05 and $3.42 million for the painting.
Churchill’s painting gifted to Franklin Roosevelt – Photo Artnet News
Churchill painted the “Tower of Koutoubia Mosque”, as the painting is titled, after Roosevelt was amazed by the beauty of the Moroccan city of Marrakech.
The discussion between Churchill and Roosevelt took place in January 1943 during the Casablanca Conference where the two allies met during World War II to plan the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Churchill gave the painting to Roosevelt as a gift.
Roosevelt’s son sold it after the death of the president in 1945.
The Allies at Casablanca Conference – Photo Forward with Roosevelt
Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt – Photo Videos Index on Times.com
Angelina Jolie and her former spouse Brad Pitt became owners of the painting in 2011.
Another of Churchill’s paintings will also be offered during the same auction for a price of between $360,996 and $601,660.
Churchill Gift to Bernard Law Montgomery – Photo LiveAuctioneers.com
The auction is scheduled for March 2021.
Churchill considered himself a keen amateur artist.
The former British Prime Minister also gave the second painting as a gift to his field marshal during the war, Bernard Law Montgomery.
Tower of Koutoubia Mosque is one of about 45 paintings depicting landscapes of Morocco.
Churchill used the painting to share the beauty of the Marrakech mosque at sunset, with green nature and the high Atlas Mountains in the background.
