Angelina Jolie sells Winston Churchill painting gifted to FDR

Angelina Jolie has just put the painting "Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque" up for sale. This painting has particular historical significance as it was painted by Winston Churchill, who gifted it to Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Christie's auction house in London announced on Monday that a painting formerly owned by President Roosevelt is coming up for auction. 

The painting, titled "Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque," displays the Moroccan landscape of Marrakech at sunset, with the Atlas mountains featuring in the background. 

Angelina Jolie, the current owner of the painting, will be selling the artwork next month. It has already been valued at a whopping $2.1 million to $3.4 million. 

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President Roosevelt's son sold the painting following his father's death in 1945. The "Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque" had various owners before Angelina and her then-husband, Brad Pitt, bought it in 2011.

Since the couple's divorce in 2016, the painting has been owned by Jolie, who will be selling it as part of the Jolie Family Collection. 

"Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque" will be auctioned on March 1 and will feature as part of Auction house Christie's modern British Art Auction. 

Winston Churchill took up painting in his 40s when he became an amateur artist and created over 500 works before his death. 

Churchill gifted this painting to Roosevelt over 80 years ago in 1943, following the Casablanca Conference, where the allied nations strategized war plans against Nazi Germany. 

Following this conference in former French Morocco, the two leaders visited Marrakech so that Churchill could show Roosevelt the city's beauty. The painting was given to Roosevelt later as a memento of their trip.

Nick Orchard, the head of Christie’s modern British art department, said that FDR thought very highly of the painting. Orchard said, “Roosevelt was blown away by it and thought it was incredible."

Orchard also revealed that Churchill particularly enjoyed painting Morrocan landscapes. “The light in Morocco and over Marrakech was something that Churchill was passionate about. He loved the dry air, the light, the sun, and the way it played on the landscapes," said Orchard.