Andy Warhol's turquoise-background Elizabeth Taylor portrait sold
for US$23.7 million Tuesday at Christie's auction house, a
spokeswoman said.
An anonymous bidder bought the portrait, Liz (Colored
Liz), from a private collector. The sale price, which included
the auction house's commission, fell below pre-sale estimates of
US$25 million to US$35 million.
The 40-by-40-inch portrait is part of a series Warhol created in
the 1960s of his muses including Taylor, Marilyn Monroe and Jackie
Kennedy.
Warhol completed Liz (Colored Liz) in 1963 about the
same time Taylor suffered from a life-threatening illness. The
painting is one of a series of a dozen and features a turquoise
background and colorful eye shadow, violet eyes and red
lipstick.
Also as part of Christie's art sale, Diamond (Blue), a
sculpture from Jeff Koons' 1994-2005 "Celebration" series, was sold
to the Gagosian Gallery for US$11.8 million, Christie's spokeswoman
Milena Sales said. Its pre-sale estimate was US$12 million.
The top seller at the auction was Mark Rothko's 1995
Untitled (Red, Blue, Orange), which was sold to an
anonymous bidder for US$34.2 million, slightly higher than its
pre-auction estimate.
(Agencies via China Daily November 14, 2007)
