Andy Warhol self-portrait sells for £11m
Andy Warhol took his place in the procession of high-priced art through London salerooms this winter when his six-feet square 1967 self-portrait sold for £10,793,250 last night at Christie's.
It had everything required to be a hit with buyers - the enigmatic glare at the viewer, the bright red and white paint, and the mystery of having "gone missing" since its sale in New York in 1974.
Five others in this Warhol series of 10 are in museums. Bidders muttered "masterpiece", seven went into the chase and the winner was King's Cross dealer Larry Gagosian, at a price three times Christie's expectation. Russian and Chinese prospective buyers were among those who left disappointed.
The £61,380,500 sale passed more peacefully than Sotheby's £44.4million contemporary art auction on Tuesday night, when bidding was interrupted by demonstrators unfurling a banner which read "ORGY OF THE RICH".
Three Damien Hirst works sold comfortably over estimate for sums of up to £881,500, confounding those who preach his certain financial doom.
In fact, living British artists did well across the board. Jenny Saville more than quadrupled her £333,750 record set in 2001 with £1,497,250 for nude portrait Branded.
She is now quite rare at auction, with heavy buying and hoarding by Charles Saatchi and the American Mr Gagosian having shortened supply.
Over the course of this week, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Frank Auerbach, Bridget Riley and Glenn Brown have all sold well over high estimates.
Brown, with his juicy paint surface, made a record £1,273,250 for Declining Nude and won backing from Sotheby's expert Oliver Barker.
"He will continue to advance," he said, heralding the arrival of a new market favourite.
