News Archive

Warhol canvas art blue 'Liz' is sold by Sotheby’s

06/11/2007

Andy Warhol’s canvas art blue ‘Liz’ sold for £11.4m at Christies in New York last night (Nov.8).
The painting belonged to actor Hugh Grant who bought it six years ago for £2m. Christies had it listed at between £12.5-£17.5m.
The Post-War and Contemporary Art Sale, the second largest ever of its kind, featured work by the biggest names in modern art including Mark Rothko, Damien Hirst, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Jeff Koons, whose seven-foot high stainless steel sculpture Diamond (Blue) sold for £5.7m.
Only five of the 67 lots failed to sell. The top lot was the blue and orange canvas art Untitled painted by Mark Rothko in 1955. It fetched £16.5m. Total sales passed the £160m mark.
Blue ‘Liz’ is one of 13 silkscreens Warhol produced of actress Elizabeth Taylor – all taken from a simple publicity shot circa 1963.
Other Warhol works on sale included ‘Hammer and Sickle’, ‘One Dollar’, ‘Elvis 2 Times’ and ‘Little Electric Chair.’
Warhol’s work broke a new sales record in May this year when his ‘Green Car Crash’, also produced in 1963, the same year as ‘Liz’, banked £36.3m.
The previous record was £8.8m for a painting of Chairman Mao in November last year.
Thanks to the digital age, photos of Warhol’s paintings can easily be made into canvas prints, an affordable alternative.
This year is the 30th anniversary of Andy Warhol’s death.
He died in New York City on February 22 1987. According to news reports, he had been making good recovery from a routine gallbladder surgery at New York Hospital before dying in his sleep from a sudden heart attack.

© Lucyart / Nigel Regan 2007