Andy Warhol masterpiece sells for £72m
Andy Warhol's masterpiece White Disaster (White Car Crash 19 Times), has sold for £72 million, one of the highest prices ever achieved for a work by the artist at auction.
The work from the US artist's celebrated Death And Disaster series was the highlight of an evening of contemporary sales at Sotheby's in New York on Wednesday night.
Thetitanofpopart,whowas said to be fixated on themes of death and mortality, printed 19 images of a fatal car crash in black and white tones to match the newspapers from which he drew inspiration.
The 1963 piece is considered one of the most provocative and haunting artistic achievements of the 20th century and "arguably the most significant achievement of his career", Sotheby's said.
The work is the first large painting from Warhol's Death And Disaster series to come to auction since 2013 when Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster) made £91m.