An Andy Warhol self-portrait, hidden from view for much of its life, has sold for more than £10 million - double the expected price.
The 2m square work, with the artist’s face in half-shadow, was part of a hugely important series of works dating back to 1967 when he had found international renown.
It sold at auction at Christie’s in London for £10.8 million (€12.8 million) last night, days after going on show for the first time.
The portrait, in red and white, was from a series of 11 highly regarded works, eight of which featured in a landmark retrospective at New York’s MOMA two years after his death in 1989. Others are held by the Tate collection and in Munich and San Francisco.
The picture - which had a pre-sale estimate of £5 million (€5.9 million) - was bought by an anonymous bidder.
It has been in a private collection since 1974 and was only recently rediscovered.
Francis Outred, head of post-war and contemporary art at Christie’s Europe, said: “It has been an incredibly exciting journey to work with a previously unknown work by Andy Warhol, particularly one with such historic importance.”
The source image of Warhol with his hand to his mouth was first used in smaller life-sized works in 1966.
PA