– A landscape painting by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was at an auction and won the highest price.
This painting was painted by former Prime Minister Churchill in 1943 during World War II and presented it to US President Franklin Roosevelt.
AFP news agency said on the 1st (local time) that the oil painting titled’Tower of Koutoubia Mosque’ (1939~1945) was sold for £7 million (approximately 10.9 billion won), which far exceeded the expected bid price at Christie’s auction in London. It was reported that it was done.
At the time, Churchill suggested to President Roosevelt who wants to return home after meetings in Casablanca in Morco, saying, “You cannot come to North Africa and leave without seeing Marrakech,” and “Let’s stay for two days.” He repeatedly said, “Let’s see the sunset over the snow in the Atlas Mountains.”
– Roosevelt agreed, and the two had a friendship while staying at their Marrakech villa and watching the setting sun together.
Later, in commemoration of this moment, Churchill painted the work and sent it to the United States as a Roosevelt birthday present.
“When Churchill first visited Morocco in 1935,” an official from Christie in London explained, “When Churchill first visited Morocco in 1935, he fell in love with the charm of the sun.” He then emphasized that “this work is the only landscape painting painted by Churchill during the war.”
Initially, the successful bid price was expected to be about 1.5 to 2.5 million pounds (about 2.3 to 3.8 billion won), but the successful bid exceeded three times. Churchill started painting in her 40s. Despite his late age, he left over 500 works in his lifetime.
Meanwhile, the owner of this work is Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, who is known to have received the work from her ex-husband Brad Pitt in 2011.
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