A rare portrait of Elizabeth Taylor showing the Hollywood screen legend with her violet eyes will go under the hammer later this month and is expected to fetch up to 8 million pounds.
Leading auction house Christie's has announced that it will offer an icon of pop art - 'Silver Liz' by Andy Warhol at its Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening auction on June 30.
Unseen in public for over 20 years, the work was executed in 1963 and is one of only two paintings to depict the celebrated actress with her legendary violet eyes.
Painted the year that she became the first USD 1 million actress, it is expected to realise 6-8 million pounds.
The evening auction will offer 63 lots with a pre-sale estimate of 40,590,000-57,640,000 pounds and will also present a core group by the Young British Artists, including three works shown at the renowned Sensation exhibition, as well as important paintings, sculptures and installations by Roy Lichtenstein, Andreas Gursky, Gerhard Richter, Jeff Koons, among others, a Christie's statement said.
"This rare portrait of 'Liz', which is one of only two to show the screen legend with her violet eyes, has been unseen in public since 1989, and we are thrilled to be able to present it to a public audience in London alongside works by other leading artists of the past 60 years, from Gerhard Richter and Alexander Calder to Jeff Koons and Andreas Gursky," said Francis Outred, head of Post-War and Contemporary Art at Christie's Europe.
{{/usCountry}}"This rare portrait of 'Liz', which is one of only two to show the screen legend with her violet eyes, has been unseen in public since 1989, and we are thrilled to be able to present it to a public audience in London alongside works by other leading artists of the past 60 years, from Gerhard Richter and Alexander Calder to Jeff Koons and Andreas Gursky," said Francis Outred, head of Post-War and Contemporary Art at Christie's Europe.
{{/usCountry}}"Andy Warhol is arguably the most influential artist of the post-War years, and his work continues to draw increasing levels of global interest and produce strong results at auction. Reflecting the global nature of contemporary life is another stellar work - 'Mappa' by Alighiero Boetti - which is a museum quality piece from the series which both predicted and depicted this trend."