The «Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque» painted by former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill in 1943 and owned by Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie was sold at an auction on Monday for more than $11.5 million. According to the Associated Press, it smashed the previous record for a work by Britain's World War II leader. «Tower of Koutoubia Mosque» was sold by international auction house Christie's London for 8.3 million pounds, shattering initial forecasts, which valued it between 1.5 million and 2.5 million pounds. The same source recalls that Churchill's other painting was sold for just under 1.8 million pounds. The painting shows the Marrakech mosque at sunset and was completed after the Anfa Conference attended by Churchill alongside Franklin Roosevelt. The two leaders had headed from Casablanca to Marrakech. Churchill then gave the painting to Roosevelt. According to the New York Daily News, the son of the former US president sold the painting after his father died. It was eventually bought by Brad Pitt, who gave it as a gift to his then-partner Angelina Jolie. «Tower of Koutoubia Mosque» was handed over on Monday by Angelina Jolie Family Collection to an unknown Belgian bidder who also purchased two more paintings by Churchill, reported The Art Newspaper.
