Goldfish-pond painting by Winston Churchill sells at auction for $2.8 million

LONDON – A painting by Winston Churchill of the fishpond at his rural home has sold for just under 1.8 million pounds ($2.8 million), almost double the previous record for his work.

“The Goldfish Pool at Chartwell” surpassed the 1 million pounds paid at auction in 2007 for another painting by Britain’s World War II prime minister.

The painting was a star lot at a Sotheby’s sale Wednesday of possessions of Churchill’s daughter, Mary Soames, who died in May.

History-minded collectors snapped up several pieces for well over their estimated value. A red ministerial briefcase from Churchill’s time in Cabinet sold for 158,500 pounds ($249,083). Its upper pre-sale estimate had been 7,000 pounds.

A signed photo to Mary from U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt fetched $32,500, ($51,074), 10 times its estimate.

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