Biography & Early Wealth Journey

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The $11.6 million price was settled after at least ten bidders battled over the painting for nearly ten minutes, and in the process set a record for the highest price ever paid for a Churchill painting. Previous Churchill works have sold for as much as $2.5 million, but this particular piece is considered more valuable because of its historical significance and the circumstances under which it was painted.

As the story goes, Churchill painted "Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque" shortly after the famous 1943 Casablanca Conference in which he and President Roosevelt met regarding their plans to win the war. After talking the president into visiting Marrakesh with him, he did the painting and intended it "as a memento of this short interlude in the crash of war."