Mao Art Fetches $16 Million

Andy Warhol's sensational portrait of Mao Zedong, considered a landmark of 20th century art, was sold to Hong Kong collector and real estate developer Joseph Lau for US$16.4 million, plus a US$1 million commission, in New York, Christie's auction house said. The portrait, entitled "Mao," set a world auction record for the artist, bringing in about US$5 million more than expected for the Switzerland-based Daros Collection, owner of one of the largest private collections of Warhol paintings. Lau ranked 451 on Forbes' list of the World's Richest People this year. The "Mao" he shelled out for on Wednesday, measuring 205 centimetres by 155 centimetres and showing Mao in a dark blue jacket against a light blue background, was "literally an icon of the 20th century," said Brett Gorvy, the head of post-war and contemporary art at Christie's. Andy Warhol (1928-87), the American pop artist, was known for his political portraits, of which "Mao" was one of his first. For the full story - click the title Irish Art