New Delhi, Feb. 19 -- 1943 wartime landscape painting of Winston Churchill, British prime minister, gifted it to U.S President Franklin D. Roosevelt, is likely to fetch up to $3.5 million at an auction next month.

Churchill painted the "Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque" in Marrakech following the January 1943 Casablanca Conference, which both the leaders attended. Churchill then took Roosevelt to Marrakech to view the sunset over the Atlas Mountains.

Winston Churchill painted the painting for Roosevelt. The painting not only implies their friendship but also reflects special affiliation between Britain and America. The other factor is that Churchill regarded his North African view better than all his other paintings.

Nicholas Orchard, hea...