Andy Warhol's 1986 "Self Portrat," est. $10M-$15M at Sotheby's. Photo: Courtesy Sotheby's

Link to Bloomberg story here.

By Lindsay Pollock

March 19 (Bloomberg) — Fashion designer Tom Ford is selling a 9-foot-square, purple-hued “Self Portrait” by Andy Warhol at Sotheby’s New York in May.

The 1986 painting, featuring the artist in his signature spiky “fright wig,” is estimated to sell for $10 million to $15 million. Ford acquired the acrylic and silkscreen ink work in 1998 from the estate of the artist, according to Sotheby’s.

“It’s pretty amazing, with great color,” said Vincent Fremont, exclusive agent for sales of paintings, sculpture and drawings at the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

The artist is believed to have created five versions of the 9-foot canvas, the largest of any of his self-portraits, according to Sotheby’s. The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh owns versions in blue and yellow. The Modern Art Museum of Forth Worth in Texas owns a green one and a U.S. private collector owns a red version, says Sotheby’s.

Warhol experimented with self-portraits since the 1950s.

“You can take the smallest version of the self-portrait and it still holds the wall,” said Fremont.“It draws you toward Andy and that’s what makes it so powerful.”

The large fright-wig series was created for a show with London dealer Anthony d’Offay who ultimately deemed the works too intense, according to Sotheby’s Tobias Meyer, head of the contemporary art department. As a result, Warhol followed up with another toned down iteration.

Dollar Bills

Ford serves on Sotheby’s advisory board. He collects modern and contemporary art, including works by Warhol, Alexander Calder and Ellsworth Kelly. Ford’s debut as a movie director, “A Single Man,” was released last year.

Ford’s decision to sell his Warhol comes one season after Sotheby’s achieved strong results with the artist. Warhol’s 1962 “200 One Dollar Bills,” estimated to sell for up to $12 million, fetched $43.8 million last November.

A 1965 red, green and purple “Self Portrait” fetched $6.1 million, more than four times the $1.5 million high estimate.
Meyer said he expects to have eight bidders compete at the estimated range.

The Warhol will be sold during Sotheby’s May 12 contemporary art evening sale.

The house has also landed a splashy 1961 red Mark Rothko painting, estimated to fetch $18 million to $25 million. The nearly 8-foot tall painting with two reddish rectangles, is likely to be the May 12 sale’s projected top lot. The same painting sold for $1.87 million at Christie’s in New York in 1997.