‘Selfie’ that turned Warhol into an icon expected to sell for £7 million
Andy Warhol’s “first selfie”, the painting which catapulted the pop artist to worldwide fame, is going under the hammer.
Warhol created his first selfportrait in 1963, when he was 35 – and best known for his images of stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Jackie Kennedy and Liz Taylor, as well as Campbell’s soup cans.
The image, created using a strip of photographs taken in a New York dime store photobooth, is expected to fetch £7 million at Sotheby’s.
Emma Baker, contemporary art specialist at the auction house, said: “It is the moment when Warhol the icon was born.
“Everybody is looking to create their own brand now. The selfie is so ubiquitous and it’s all about self -image. But Warhol really was at the forefront of this whole phenomenon, which has only just caught up to his prophetic way of thinking.”
The work will appear at auction, in London, 30 years after the artist’s death in New York.
His first self-portrait came after Warhol’s dealer had been trying to persuade the pop artist to turn his eye on himself for some time, saying: “People want to see you. Your looks are responsible for a certain part of your fame.”
Ms Baker said: “He became as iconic as the people he had painted.”