This Andy Warhol piece of Queen Elizabeth II from 1985 is set to go under the hammer in an upcoming auction that could see it fetch EUR 200,000.
The piece, signed in pencil by the famous American pop artist Andy Warhol (1928-1987) and numbered 9/40, is a “screenprint in colours on Lenox Museum Board with the blindstamp of the printer Rupert Jasen Smith, New York.”
It was created to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation, according to the auction house Dorotheum.
Newsflash obtained a statement from the Dorotheum auction house on 15th November saying: “Andy Warhol portrayed an actual queen, namely Elizabeth II, in a series of pictures from 1985. Fame was this pop chameleon’s stated goal.
“No wonder, then, that Warhol wished to be as famous as the Queen one day. As he did for Marilyn, he elevated the long-serving head of the British Empire to icon status in his works.
“The painting offered at Dorotheum, no. 9 from an edition of 40, is from a private European collection. It was created as part of Warhol’s ‘Reigning Queens’ series, and was modelled on Queen Elizabeth II’s official photo on the occasion of her 25th coronation anniversary.”
The auction house expects the painting to fetch between EUR 150,000 and EUR 200,000 (GBP 130,500 and GBP 174,065).
The painting is being auctioned as part of Dorotheum’s Contemporary Week, between 29th November and 2nd December. The “Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom” piece will go under the hammer on 30th November and the auction can be attended online.