Warhol self portrait goes for $38m

Warhol self portrait goes for $38m

NEW YORK - An Andy Warhol self-portrait done a year before the pop artist's death was auctioned by Sotheby's on Wednesday for more than US$30 million (S$38 million).

"Six Self Portraits," which was done in 1986 and features six images of Warhol, had been valued at between 25 and 35 million dollars, and in the end went for 30.1 million.

The sale was part of an auction of post-war and contemporary art.

On Tuesday the Warhol work "Race Riot" was auctioned by Christie's for 62.89 million dollars. And his "White Marilyn" went for 41.1 million dollars.

His work "Silver Car Crash" (Double Disaster) was auctioned for more than 105 million dollars in November.

Another big item up for grabs Wednesday at Sotheby's was the sculpture "Popeye" by Jeff Koons. It went for 28.2 million dollars, above its estimated value of 25 million.

The painting "Blau" (Blue) by the German Gerhard Richter was sold for 28.2 million dollars.

The spring auctions of post-war and Contemporary art by Christie's and Sotheby's were dominated this year by American Barnett Newman. His "Black Fire I" was acquired Tuesday for more than 84 million dollars, a record for that artist.

Newsman's work outdid a tryptic by Britain's Francis Bacon, "Three Studies for a Portrait of John Edwards", which sold for more than 80 million dollars.

Bacon holds the world record for a record sold at auction, for his tryptic "Three Studies of Lucian Freud", which sold for 142.4 million dollars in New York.

Spring art auctions opened last week in New York with Impressionist and Modern works, and will conclude at the end of the month.

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