A rediscovered Andy Warhol self- portrait that has not been seen in public for more than 30 years sold this week in London for 10.8 million pounds ($17.4 million). ARTKABINETT art collector social network has been reporting on sky-rocketing auction prices of modern Pop art over the past few months. The bright-red acrylic and silkscreen portrait, showing the Pop artist looking pensive with his hand covering his mouth, measured 6 feet by 6 feet and dated from 1967.
Christie's International had valued the painting at 3 million pounds to 5 million pounds in its 64-lot auction of contemporary works. It was bought by art dealer Larry Gagosian, bidding in the room. The underbidder was Andreas Rumbler of Christie's, who was taking instructions from a client on the telephone.
"At the time of its execution, Warhol was at the peak of his creative powers and this very rare series of works were the largest self-portraits he had made," Francis Outred, Christie's European head of contemporary art, said in a statement before the auction.
"This work shows a classic image of the artist in an imposing, larger-than-life scale, with an extraordinary presence of thick, red paint. That five of the works from this series are in museums is a testament to their importance."
Contemporary-art dealers are watching for price rises in 2011. Worldwide auctions slumped more than 50 percent in 2009. The once-booming market is still recovering, according to the French-based data company Artprice.
The painting was one of a series of 11 large-scale self- portraits, five of which are now in museums, including the Detroit Museum of Arts and the U.K.'s Tate collection. This particular version was unknown prior to being unveiled by Christie's in January.
Offered by what the London-based auction house described as "an American estate," it had been acquired from Warhol's New York dealer, Leo Castelli, in 1974.
The sale later includes a pair of Jeff Koons sculptures, also offered at auction for the first time. The 1988 "Winter Bears"î has a low estimate of 2.5 million pounds.
Christieís estimates that tonight's event will raise as much as 66.4 million pounds.
