An oil painting made in 1921 by Winston Churchill that was long thought to be lost is now coming to auction. The painting was originally gifted to Greek shipping magnate and Jackie Kennedy’s second husband, Aristotle Onassis by the statesman five decades ago. Onassis used to display the painting on his yacht known as the Christina.
Now, the heirs of the painting is selling it at Phillips modern and contemporary art evening sale on June 23 in New York. The painting, tilted The Moat, Breccles, is expected to fetch $1.5 million–$2 million.
Churchill and Onassis met through the statesman’s son, Randolph, and forged a years-long friendship. The shipping magnate was one of several high-profile friends to whom the politician gave his still life and landscape paintings. Churchill first mentioned The Moat, Breccles in his essay “Painting as a Pastime,” published in the Strand Magazine in December 1921.
Recently, Churchill paintings have seen success on the market. A buyer purchased three paintings by Churchill at Christie’s British modern art sale held in London this March for a total of £11.2 million ($16 million). Among those works was a painting of a North African mosque that was being sold by Angelina Jolie that sold for a triple-estimate £8.3 million ($11.6 million), setting a record. Churchill’s previous record was the $2.7 million paid in 2014 at Sotheby’s London for The Goldfish Pool at Chartwell (1932).
Phillips plans to display The Moat alongside a replica of Onassis’s yacht bar, which was frequented by high society guests such as John D. Rockefeller, Eva Peron, Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, and Marilyn Monroe. The installation will open on June 15 at the auction house’s new Park Avenue headquarters.
