Arts News
Warhol's portrait of Elizabeth Taylor to be sold
Mar 24, 2011, 22:51 GMT
Los Angeles - The death of screen icon Elizabeth Taylor may prove to be a huge boon to one lucky art collector.
A day after the death of the movie legend, auctioneer Phillips de Pury announced Thursday that it is putting up for sale a 1963 portrait of Taylor by artist Andy Warhol, with the painting expected to fetch as much as 30 million dollars.
The painting, called Liz #5, is a 'pristine gem,' Phillips said in a statement announcing the sale, which it said had been scheduled before Taylor's death.
'It is Warhol at his very best with a perfect screen, glowing colors, and impeccable provenance ... . It embodies the most important themes of Warhol's oeuvre including celebrity, wealth, scandal, sex, death and Hollywood.'
No details were available about the seller who bought the painting in 2007 from the estate of New York art dealer Ileanna Sonnabend in 2007, the auction house said.
