By Zoubida Senoussi
Rabat – Winston Churchill once said that Marrakech was “the loveliest spot in the whole world.” The British politician spent the winter of 1935 painting while vacationing in Morocco.
During his stay, Churchill grew to love the North African country, especially its red city, Marrakech. The former prime minister also called Marrakech the “Paris of the Sahara” because of the contrast between the city’s desert location and the backdrop of the Atlas Mountains that surround it. This image inspired Churchill to create some of his finest paintings.
Accompanied by paintings by other artists, Churchill’s works will be displayed in the Heather James Fine Art of San Francisco gallery from June 1-30. Some of his oil paintings (all created between 1920-1940) will include, “nine landscapes plus a coastal scene and a still-life painting, and other works that depict estates, gardens, and his [Churchill’s] family’s favorite destinations, including France and Morocco,” according to “themalaymailonline.”
“Morocco was to me a revelation,” the former UK prime minister wrote in a 1936 article, reprinted by the Daily Mail that reading about politics in Morocco. “doesn’t afford the slightest impression of the charm and value of this splendid territory.”
“Herein these spacious palm groves rising from the desert [Marrakech], the traveler can be sure of perennial sunshine, of every comfort and diversion, and can contemplate with ceaseless satisfaction the stately and snow-clad panorama of the Atlas Mountains. The sun is brilliant and warm but not scorching; the air crisp, bracing but without being chilly; the days bright, the nights cool and fresh,” he added.
