On November 11, 2015, Sotheby’s will auction off a rare Andy Warhol painting of Chairman Mao. The massive 82-by-57-inch silkscreen Mao painting that was created in 1972 is expected to earn about $40 million. Longtime Warhol friend Bob Colacello had written in his book Holy Terror that Andy Warhol had wanted to paint “the most important figure of the 20th century.” Calacello recalls Warhol saying that he read an article in Life magazine stating that Chairman Mao was the most famous person in the world today. At present the highest amount received for a Warhol Mao painting is $17.4 million from an auction at Christie’s New York in November 2006.
See Eileen Kinsella, Sotheby’s to Offer Rare Warhol Mao for $40 Million, Art Net News, October 1, 2015.
