Winston Churchill painting, Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque, 1943. Oil on canvas. 18 x 24 in (45.7 x 61 cm). Image: Christie’s

BY KAZAD

The bidding to acquire the landscape painting was intense. Mostly done over the phone, the intense quest by collectors from across the globe led to the high record amount paid for the landscape painting.

The oil on canvas painting captures the 12th-century mosque in Marrakech at sunset. In the painting’s background are the Atlas Mountains. The warm orange tones of the mosque standing against purple mountains, blue sky, and green palms make it unique. In front and around the mosques are Moroccans going to attend the evening prayers. The painting reflects a major Churchill fascination, light.

Churchill was captivated by the dramatic sunlight of Marrakech from his first visit to Morocco in 1935 with the French protectorate. He “fell in love with the quality of light there,” notes Nick Orchard. That love is evident in Tower of the Koutoubia: the dramatic long shadows and warm tones of the sunset in Marrakech, Morocco are effectively used to create a striking contrast that pulls viewers to the location.   

Winston Churchill Painting

It was during the visit to Marrakech that Winston Churchill painted this beautiful landscape. After Roosevelt left, Churchill stayed an extra day to complete the painting. From the balcony of the city’s Villa Taylor, Churchill captured the sunset over Marrakech.

Tower of the Koutoubia is “Churchill’s most important work,” notes Nick Orchard, head of modern British art at Christie’s in London. In addition to its provenance, this was the only painting Britain’s wartime prime minister completed during the 1939-45 conflict. Churchill gave the painting to Roosevelt on his birthday to memorialize their time together.

A major highlight of the conference was the two leaders demanded “Unconditional surrender” from Germany and Italy.

Roosevelt’s son sold the painting soon after the death of FDR in 1945. From the filmmaker who bought the painting from FDR’s son in the 1960s, the painting went through the hands of several owners before Angelina Jolie and partner Brad Pitt bought it in 2011. It was sold by the antique dealer Bill Rau of M.S Rau.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

Brad Pitt bought Tower of the Koutoubia from the antique dealer Bill Rau as a gift to Jolie in 2011, in celebration of their relationship. The relationship between Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt was the talk of the town for several years.

In 2016, the couple separated after two years of marriage. For almost four years, they were tangled in a divorce proceeding. Speculations were that the division of their extensive art collection was a major obstacle.

The couple eventually divorced in 2019 through a bifurcated judgment. The judgment stated that the couple could be declared single while other issues like finances and child custody remained pending.

The Jolie Family Collection put the Winston Churchill painting for sale at Christie’s.  

Churchill produced over 500 paintings throughout his life even though he did not start painting until he was about 40 years old. Before going into politics, he was a career army officer. A navel attack during World War I that cost him his title of First Lord of the Admiralty forced a shift to creativity.

Scene at Marrakech

Tower of the Koutoubia is just one of Churchill’s landscape paintings that made a remarkable showing at the Christie’s Modern British Art evening sale. Scene at Marrakech, another landscape painting with dramatic lights fetched £1.9 million ($2.6 million) surpassing all estimations. So did St Paul’s Churchyard, which sold for £1.1 million ($1.5 million), tripling its pre-auction estimates.