Angelina Jolie has sold a painting by Sir Winston Churchill for £8.28 million

A Christie's spokesperson described the painting as Churchill's "most important work".

The spokesperson added: "Aside from its distinguished provenance, it is the only landscape he made during the war."

Churchill was a keen artist and painted the 'The Tower Of The Koutoubia Mosque' after the Casablanca Conference in 1943.

He subsequently gave the piece of artwork to US president Franklin Roosevelt, and Angelina became its owner in New Orleans back in 2011 after it was put up for sale.

Nick Orchard, Christie's head of modern British and Irish art, hailed the importance of the artwork.

The expert suggested it helped to forge a "special relationship" between the UK and the US.

He explained: "This is Churchill's diplomacy at its most personal and intense.

"It is not an ordinary gift between leaders. This is soft power, and it is what the special relationship is all about."

Meanwhile, Angelina previously compared 'The One and Only Ivan' to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Hollywood star - who voices African bush elephant Stella in the Disney movie, which she also produced - made the comparison as she discussed the themes of the film, which was adapted from Katherine Applegate's 2012 novel of the same name.

Speaking about the movie and the parallels with the ongoing health crisis, Angelina explained: "There’s something about the captivity of it too that I think was sadly speaking to children and helping each other through with feeling confined.

"I think it spoke to kids and touched at a good time."