Winston Churchill Moroccan landscape painting owned by Angelina Jolie fetches $11.5 million
Theresa Braine
A Moroccan landscape painted by Winston Churchill and owned by Angelina Jolie sold at auction on Monday for more than $11.5 million, smashing the previous record for a work by Britain’s World War II leader.
“Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque” sold at Christie’s in London for 8.3 million pounds, smashing the predictions of 1.5 million pounds to 2.5 million pounds, as well as the previous record price for a Churchill painting of just under 1.8 million pounds, The Associated Press reported.
It was the only painting completed by the British Prime Minister and amateur artist during WWII. He gave it to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1943.
FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 17 photo, Christie's employees adjust an oil on canvas painting by Sir Winston Churchill painted in Jan. 1943 called 'Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque' during an Art pre-sale photo call at Christie's auction house in London.
FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 17 photo, Christie's employees adjust an oil on canvas painting by Sir Winston Churchill painted in Jan. 1943 called 'Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque' during an Art pre-sale photo call at Christie's auction house in London. (Frank Augstein/)
The work depicts a sunset over Marrakech’s largest mosque and is titled “Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque.” The British wartime leader took President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to see it the day after the 1943 Casablanca Conference, where the allies mapped out how to defeat Nazi Germany.
Churchill had to convince his U.S. counterpart to stay in Morocco an extra day and make the 150-mile drive to Marrakech.
“You cannot come all this way to North Africa without seeing Marrakech,” Churchill reportedly told Roosevelt, according to a statement from Christie’s in London, where the auction took place on Monday. “I must be with you when you see the sun set on the Atlas Mountains.”
Churchill then painted the view they had shared and gave it to Roosevelt the day after their visit, reported The Art Newspaper.
Roosevelt’s son sold the painting upon his father’s death. It eventually made its way to Brad Pitt, who gave it as a gift to then-partner Angelina Jolie.
On Jan. 24, 1965, Sir Winston Churchill passed away at the age of 90 due to a severe stroke. More than 50 years later, the British Prime Minister's legacy still lives on as he is considered one of the greatest statesmen of the 20th century. Take a look back at the life and career of the British Prime Minister.
Here, Churchill is pictured in a portrait at the age of 7. He was born in November of 1874 into the aristocratic family of the Dukes of Marlborough as Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill and was raised in Dublin, Ireland.
Churchill is pictured here as a Harrow schoolboy at the age of 15. He was made fun of during this time for his red hair and speech impediment that continued throughout his career. He eventually left Harrow in 1893 and applied to attend the Royal Military College in Sandhurst.
In December of 1894, Churchill graduated at the top of his class and chose to remain with the cavalry where he was quickly commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 4th Queen's Own Hussars in February in 1895. Churchill travelled to Cuba to observe the Spanish fight the Cuban guerrillas during the Cuban War of Independence that same year where he worked as a journalist for British paper, the Daily Graphic. Churchill also fought and reported on the Greco-Turkish War and the Battle of Omdurman before retiring from the regular army in 1900.
In 1900, after leaving the military, Churchill won the seat of Oldham in the 1900 general elections and in Parliament, he became associated wtih the Conservative Party. However, Churchill quickly began to disagree with leading members of his party and in 1904, he crossed the floor to sit as a member of the Liberal Party. In 1905, Churchill became Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies until 1908. Only 2 years later, Churchill was promoted for his first major position as Home Secretary.
In 1904, Churchill met his future wife Clementine Hozier at a ball but they didn't end up talking to each other until 1908 when they met again at a dinner party. This time, Churchill found himself seated next to Clementine and they quickly fell in love and ended up marrying the same year.
Churchill and his wife Clementine had their first child Diana (pictured) in 1909 while living in London, a year before he accepted his first major position in office.
From 1919 to 1922, Churchill served as Secretary of State for War and Air followed by Secretary of State for the Colonies under Prime Minister David Lloyd George. After Churchill was defeated in the Liberal Party as a Member of Parliament in 1922, he rejoined the Conservative Party. In 1924, Churchill was named Chancellor of the Exchequer, and served until 1929, as seen in this photo from May of 1929. While acting as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Churchill returned Britain to the Gold Standard, essential using gold for money but this only brought deflation, unemployment and strikes.
In 1929, the Conservative Party was defeated and after being portrayed as a right-wing extremist, Churchill decided to take some time away from the government. In the years that followed, Churchill concentrated on writing and publishing books including a biography of his ancestor John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough and "A History of the English Speaking Peoples." Winston Churchill became one of the best paid writers of his time.
With the outbreak of World War 2, Winston Churchill was appointed as First Lord of the Admiralty and a member of the War Cabinet in 1939. Here, Churchill can be seen making a recruitment speech at London's Mansion House for the terrirorial army on April 24, 1939.
Winston Churchill and his wife Clementine sit on board a naval auxiliary patrol vessel as it travels down the Thames towards docks in east London during the Second World War on Sept. 25, 1940.
During his first term as Prime Minister, Winston Churchill established a strong relationship with former U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He exchanged more than a thousand letters and telegrams and met 11 times. Here, they meet on board the HMS Prince of Wales in Newfoundland to discuss the Atlantic Charter. They worked together to create the Lend-Lease Act, in which the U.S. would supply Britain with vital food and oil in return for defending the U.S.
While serving his first term as Prime Minster, Winston Churchill also served as Leader of the Conservative Party from 1940 and 1955. During the course of the Second World War, Churchill's popularity grew as he was confident that the Allies would eventually win the war.
Winston Churchill shows off his party trick, balancing a top hat on his walking stick as his amused daughter Mary watches on outside the Mansion House in London on June 30, 1943.
After the general election of 1951, Churchill returned to government and was appointed as Minister of Defense in October. The same month, Churchill also became Prime Minister once again and remained in position until 1955. In 1953, Churchill was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. Here, Churchill is making his infamous "V" sign for "victory."
Throughout his career, Churchill had suffered from both stokes and mild heart attacks especially in 1953 after a more severe stroke that affected his speech and ability to walk. Due to his slowing mental and physical health, in April of 1955, Churchill decided to resign from his position as prime minister. While Churchill always enjoyed writing, he was also quite the artist and gave more time to painting after his resignation. He mostly enjoyed painting landscapes with oil-paint and most of his paintings are on display to this day. Here, Churchill works on a painting in 1946, on holiday in Miami after completing his first term as prime minister.
It was sold at Christie’s Modern British art evening by the Jolie Family Collection to an unknown Belgian bidder who bought two other Churchill paintings as well, reported The Art Newspaper.
“Churchill first visited Morocco in 1935 where he fell in love with the quality of light there,” said Nick Orchard, head of modern British art at Christie’s in London, according to CNN. “He felt that his paintings of the country were among his best.”
