6.3.2026 – how did this painting

how did this painting
end up on the art market?
Elliott sold it …

I was intrigued to read this morning, the article, Was Churchill a Serious Artist? This Exhibition Says, ‘Yes.’, slugged, ‘In the first major British retrospective for over 60 years, a London museum seeks to recast the wartime leader as a painter with emotional depth.’ by Leo Sands in the New York Times for several reasons.

The first thing that struck me was that an article that discussed whether Mr. Churchill was serious painter did not include the famous exchange between Mr. Churchill and his body guard, Sergeant Edmund Murray, who also painted.

Mr. Churchill reviewed Sergeant Murray’s work and according to Sergeant Murray, “He looked at the first. ‘Very good.’ He looked at the second. ‘Very, very good.’ He looked at the third. ‘Excellent. You know, they are much better ‘than mine’ — then he sort of giggled with his eyes squeezed up and shining impishly ‘but yours are judged on their merit …'” (from Churchill’s Bodyguard by Edmund Murrary,(W.H. Allen: London, 1987).

How Mr. Sands could ignore this is beyond me but then I am not writing for the New York Times.

The second item that intrigued me was the the auction of the above piece, Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque, sold at auction for a record $11.5 million dollars.

The painting is famous as it reported to be only painting painted by Churchill during World War 2.

Mr. Churchill painted it after a the summit meetings with Franklin Roosevelt in Casablanca and he convinced FDR, that he had to come with Churchill to Marrakesh to see the sun set over the Atlas Mountains from a specific tower in a specific villa.

FDR went along and even allowed himself to be hand carried by two Secret Service agents to the top of the tower where he sat in a wicker chair while he and Churchill watched the sunset.

After FDR left, Churchill called for his paints and painted this painting that he later presented to FDR.

And that is where I got intrigued.

The NYT article stated, that when the painting was sold in 2021, the seller was Angelina Jolie, who had received the painting as a gift from Brad Pitt.

Huh, wah?

How did Brad Pitt find the Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque by Winston Churchill?

Luckily there is Wikipedia and it says: The painting was inherited by Roosevelt’s son Elliot who sold it to George W. Woodward of Nebraska in 1950. It was purchased by Norman G. Hickman of New York in 1964. Hickman was a financier, collector and film producer, who had worked on The Finest Hours, a documentary on Churchill’s life. During Hickman’s ownership, the painting was exhibited at the National Churchill Museum at Fulton, Missouri. It remained in his family’s ownership until it was placed with M.S. Rau Antiques of New Orleans in 2011. It was then bought by the actress Angelina Jolie.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh

Elliot sold it.

FDR and Eleanor had 5 children.

The accounted for 19 marriages.

And were often in need of funds.

So was Eleanor, as FDR had spent most of his inheritance on Warm Springs as a polio center.

A friend of the family suggested to Eleanor that maybe she could sell off FDR’s famous stamp collection.

She had hoped for a single buyer but it turned out that so many folks wanted something of FDR’s that piece was stamped THE FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT COLLECTION and sold bit by bit and rescued Eleanor.

I know this because I have something from the collection that my wife got me for a birthday years ago.

I am reminded of another FDR and his boys story.

FDR had a copy made of the famous George Washington Desk that is used by the Mayor of New York that is supposed to have been the desk George Washington used as President when the Capitol was in New York.

This was the desk that is in FDR’s office in the FDR Library at Hyde Park.

During the Clinton Administration someone had the great idea that Bill should deliver a speech from the Roosevelt Library and so it was set up.

When the time came, Bill walked into the office and sat at the desk with a mug of coffee and he caught one of the museum curators glaring at him.

He looked at her and looked at his coffee and looked at desk.

He mimed to her that he understood and had it under control, sat at the desk and set the coffee on a rug on the floor.

According to legend the curator fainted.

See the desk WAS a copy of FDR’s copy of Washington’s desk as his son, James, wanted his Dad’s desk and made the swap.

It was the rug that was original and originally the rug was a handmade Persian rug that had been gifted to FDR by the King of Saudi Arabia and reportedly worth 100s of thousands of dollars.

Anyway, how did Brad Pitt get Churchill’s painting?

Well, Elliot sold it.