€26m for Warhol self-portrait

A LATE self-portrait by “pope of pop” Andy Warhol sold for a record €25.8 million at Sotheby’s in New York, underlining the return of big spenders to the international art market.

The stark 1986 image of Warhol’s famous face and unkempt hair was estimated to sell at between €8m and €13m at the contemporary art auction.

The huge final sale value was in line with the strong demand for Warhols shown at the spring contemporary art auction at rival Christie’s.

The Sotheby’s sale was the highest price paid for a self-portrait by the iconoclastic artist, who died a year after the work was completed.

According to the auctions giant, this final self-portrait by Warhol captures his “attitude toward presenting his outer self, tempting us with the thought that he might finally let us glimpse his most intimate inner self”.

Some 94% of lots at Sotheby’s found buyers, totalling just under $190m in sales, following a healthy performance for contemporary art at Christie’s the previous day.

Another big seller at Sotheby’s was Mark Rothko’s untitled abstract canvas dominated by the colour red, which sold for €25m.

A portrait of a saxophonist by Jean-Michel Basquiat – Untitled (Stardust) – sold for a whopping €5.7m.