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Seven Warhol’s muses auctioned at Sotheby’s New York in November

NEW YORK, October 13. /TASS/. One of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, the multinational auctioneering corporation Sotheby’s, is putting on auction seven paintings by the pop-art king Andy Warhol at a contemporary art auction on November 11-13.

Warhol’s close ties and cooperation with celebrities in the 60th gave him an opportunity to create a series of unique photos and neon images, known as silk-screen paintings. Silk-screen portraits of seven iconic superstars and muses are expected to be sold at Sotheby’s auction for $48-57 million.

One of the earliest artist’s works, Liz#1 (Early Colored Liz), a silk-screen image of actress and celebrity Elizabeth Taylor, will be the gem of the upcoming auction. The organizers expect to gain at least $30 million for the painting. This portrait has not been on public display for more than 40 years and has never appeared at auctions before, Alex Rotter, co-head of contemporary art worldwide at Sotheby’s, said.

Another Warhol’s masterpiece, the silk-screen image of Brigitte Bardot, is based on the black and white photo of the celebrity, taken by American fashion photographer Richard Avedon in 1959. This portrait was ordered by Bardot’s ex-husband, German millionaire playboy Gunter Sachs, in 1974 and kept it in his private collection till his death in 2011. The lot is estimated at $10-15 million.

Besides that, five more portraits of Warhol’s muses will be put up for sale in November. The portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland and eccentric Portuguese celebrity Sao Schlumberger, as well as the images of Debbie Harry, the leader of American punk rock band Blondie, and Jacqueline Kennedy, the former First Lady of the US and the wife of the 35th American President John F. Kennedy, will be auctioned off the same night at Sotheby’s.

The portrait of Sao Schlumberger, also painted in 1974, is estimated by Sotheby’s at $2-3 million, while the paintings of Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Debbie Harry and Jacqueline Kennedy are valued at at least $1 million each.