Angelina Jolie's Rare Winston Churchill Painting Breaks Auction Records

Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque karya Sir Winston Churchill. (Sumber: christies.com)

JAKARTA - A rare painting of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill presented to United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) during World War II, owned by actress Angelina Jolie. Become the most expensive painting by the former British Prime Minister.

According to CNN, the painting entitled 'Tower of Koutoubia Mosque' was sold by Angelina Jolie at Christie's Auction Hall, London for nearly 8.3 million pounds or 11.5 million US dollars on March 1.

"Churchill first visited Morocco in 1935 where he fell in love with the quality of the light there. He felt his paintings of the village were among the best," said Head of Modern British Art Christie's Auction Hall at Christie's Nick Orchard.

The sale doubled the top estimate of 2.5 million pounds (3.5 million US dollars). Churchill's previous record was 1.7 million pounds (2.7 million US dollars) in 2014 at Sotheby's London.

The 'Koutoubia Mosque Minaret' is the only painting Churchill made between 1939 and 1945, during World War II.

In January 1943, after attending the Casablanca Conference in Morocco together to strategize against Nazi Germany, Churchill convinced Roosevelt to join him near Marrakech and watch the sun set behind the Atlas Mountains.

Their brief encounter together was immortalized by the painting, which Churchill made the next day after Roosevelt's departure.

According to sources knowledgeable about sales, actor Brad Pitt purchased a painting of Churchill's sunsets as a gift for Angelina Jolie in 2011.

Pitt bought the painting from antiques dealer Bill Rau, who had previously said that President Roosevelt's son had sold the painting to filmmakers in the 1960s.

According to Rau, the painting eventually ended up in New Orleans, United States where it was kept in a local family cupboard for more than five decades before a family member contacted the gallery, Ms. Rau.

"The painting depicts a moment shared by two world leaders as they look at the magnificent landscape of Marrakesh, as the sun sets over Morocco's Atlas Mountains. Knowing that Churchill presented the painting to FDR after they were together made me even more excited," said Rau.

Churchill began painting into adulthood, around the age of 40, after a failed naval attack during World War I that cost him the title of 'Lord of the Admiralty'. Nevertheless, he was prolific, producing more than 500 works during his lifetime.

The market for the former prime minister's artwork continues to grow. Apart from the Koutoubia Minaret Mosque, two of his works were also successful sold at Christie's Modern English Art night.

'Scene at Marrakech', another light-filled work from Churchill's favorite, sells for nearly £ 1.9 million (US $ 2.6 million), and 'St Paul's Churchyard', sells for nearly 1.1 million pounds (1.5 million US dollars). Both selling prices were more than three times their estimated heights.

"The interest in Winston Churchill's art proved very influential at Christie's," said Orchard.