The work, “Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque”, was sold on March 1 by the Jolie family collection and features the long shadows and warm tones of a sunset in Marrakech, Morocco – one of Churchill’s favorite themes to paint.
“The Koutoubia Mosque Tower”, a gift to former President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt, was the only painting done by Churchill during World War II. The work is now Churchill’s most expensive painting to sell at auction. Credit: TOLGA AKMEN / AFP via Getty Images
“Churchill first visited Morocco in 1935, where he fell in love with the quality of the light there,” said Nick Orchard, head of modern British art at Christie’s in London, where the auction took place. “He felt that his country paintings were among the best.”
The sale more than tripled its estimate of £ 2.5 million ($ 3.5 million). Churchill’s previous record was £ 1.7 million ($ 2.7 million) in 2014 at Sotheby’s London.
According to a source with knowledge of the sale, actor Brad Pitt bought the sunset scene from Churchill as a gift to Jolie in 2011. The couple separated in 2016 after two years of marriage.
“Koutoubia Mosque Tower” is the only painting that Churchill did between 1939 and 1945, during World War II.
In January 1943, after participating jointly at the Casablanca Conference in Morocco to create a strategy against Nazi Germany, Churchill convinced Roosevelt to join him in neighboring Marrakech and watch the sunset behind the Atlas Mountains. The brief stay together was honored by the painting, which Churchill created the day after Roosevelt’s departure. After the conference, the two leaders demanded “unconditional surrender” from Germany, Italy and Japan – a historic statement that had a far-reaching impact on the war.
Actor Brad Pitt bought Churchill’s painting for Angelina Jolie in 2011, before they were married and finally split up after more than a decade together. Credit: Kevin Winter / Getty Images
Pitt bought the painting from antiques dealer Bill Rau, who previously told CNN that President Roosevelt’s son sold the piece to a filmmaker in the 1960s. According to Rau, the painting ended up in New Orleans, where it was kept in the closet from a local family for more than five decades before a family member contacted his gallery, MS Rau.
“Scene at Marrakech,” another Moroccan work of Churchill’s sunset, was sold at three times its highest estimate during the same sale. Credit: courtesy of Christie’s
Churchill started painting in adulthood, around the age of 40, after a failed naval attack during the First World War, which cost him the title of First Lord of the Admiralty. However, he was prolific, producing more than 500 works in his lifetime.
The market for the art of the former prime minister is growing steadily. In addition to “Koutoubia Mosque Tower”, two of his other works performed better at Christie’s night auction of “Modern British Art”.
“Scene at Marrakech”, another light-filled composition from Churchill’s favorite place, sold for about £ 1.9 million ($ 2.6 million), and “St Paul’s Churchyard”, sold for nearly £ 1.1 million ($ 1.5 million). Both sales prices were more than three times their estimates.
“Winston Churchill’s appetite for art has been demonstrated to great effect at Christie’s,” said Orchard.