Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Andy Warhol ‘Ghost’ painting up for auction at Sotheby’s


Here is a fascinating story about this rare and iconic self portrait of the world renowned Andy Warhol that was refused by his dealer as ‘too prophetic’.
It will not exactly cheer up the living room – even his dealer thought it too scary – but this huge, ghostly image of a purple Andy Warhol in his fright wig, produced a year before his death, will be one of the highlights of the next big series of auction sales.
Sotheby’s has exhibited key works in London ahead of their sale in New York next month. The lessons of recent auctions has been that, yes, the recession is having an effect on sales but there are still mega-rich buyers willing to pay extraordinary amounts for works that are almost impossible to get hold of. “The market is very discriminating and informed,” said Sotheby’s head of contemporary art, Tobias Meyer. “It wants masterpieces, it wants things that are not replaceable.”
One man persuaded that the time is right to sell is fashion designer turned film director Tom Ford, owner of the Warhol. The self-portrait, valued at $10-15m (£6.5-9.7m) and about 2.7 sq metres, was produced in 1986 and even his dealer Anthony D’Offay was taken aback by it.Andy Warhol “Ghost”, Acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas, Estimated Sale Price: $10,000,000 – $15,000,000 USD

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