SOTHEBY'S TO SELL RARE ICONIC 1986 WARHOL SELF-PORTRAIT

AN ICONIC AND RARE SELF PORTRAIT BY ANDY WARHOL, EXECUTED IN 1986 JUST PRIOR TO HIS UNEXPECTED DEATH THE FOLLOWING YEAR, WILL BE OFFERED BY SOTHEBY'S 12.MAY IN A SALE OF CONTEMPORARY ART. THE PAINTING IS FROM WARHOL'S FINAL SERIES OF SELF PORTRAITS, WIDELY ACKNOWLEDGED AS THE MOST IMPORTANT OF HIS ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER. THE MONUMENTAL CANVAS, MEASURING 108 x 108in, IS ONE OF ONLY A HANDFUL EXECUTED BY THE ARTIST AND ONE OF ONLY TWO THAT ARE KNOWN TO BE PRIVATELY HELD. ESTIMATED TO SELL FOR $10 TO $15 MILLION, THE PAINTING WILL BE SHOWN IN HONG KONG AND LONDON PRIOR TO ITS EXHIBITION AND SALE IN NEW YORK. THE SERIES OF 1986 PORTRAITS WOULD BE THE ARTIST'S LAST, PAINTED JUST PRIOR TO HIS DEATH IN FEBRUARY 1987. WHILE THE ARTIST CREATED SELF PORTRAITS THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER, THE MAJORITY DATE FROM THE 1960s AND 1970s. WHEN WARHOL CREATED THE 1986 SERIES, IT HAD BEEN QUITE SOME TIME SINCE HE HAD DEALT WITH HIS OWN ICONIC IMAGE.PREVIOUS 1960s SELF PORTRAITS HAD BEEN BASED ON STRIPS OF IMAGES TAKEN IN A PHOTO BOOTH, WHILE THE 1986 WORKS ARE BASED ON POLAROIDS WHICH HE HAD USED THROUGHOUT THE 1970s AS SOURCE IMAGES. WEARING HIS TRADEMARK SIGNATURE 'FRIGHT WIG', WARHOL'S SELF IMAGE OVERWHELMS THE INKY BLACK CANVAS SURFACE, CONFRONTING THE VIEWER WITH A DIRECT AND HAUNTING GAZE. WHILE MANY OF THE LARGE-FORMAT 1986 SELF-PORTRAITS MEASURE 80 x 80 INCHES, THIS MONUMENTAL PAINTING IS ONE OF ONLY A HANDFUL ON THE SCALE OF 108 x 108 INCHES, EACH WITH A DIFFERENT GROUND THAN THE CURRENT PURPLE SELF-PORTRAIT. THE SELF-PORTRAITS HAVE AN ELEGIAC AND MYSTICAL INTENSITY AND ARE THE PENULTIMATE STATEMENT OF THE ARTIST'S CONTRADICTORY NATURE AS A FLAMBOYANTLY PUBLIC PERSONALITY WHO WAS ULTIMATELY ENIGMATIC AS A PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL.