Andy Warhol’s Mao Portrait Ink On Canvas Goes Under The Hammer

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An iconic portrait – ink on canvas of China’s Communist leader Mao Zedong by Andy Warhol will be up for auction for the first time in China on April 1 at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong. The portrait, dating back to 1973, is expected to fetch between $12 million and $15 million. Warhol began painting Mao’s portraits when ties between the United States and China began to improve after President Richard Nixon’s visit to Beijing in 1972. He even made the stony observation that “Since fashion is art now and Chinese is in fashion, I could make a lot of money… Mao would be really nutty not to believe in it, it’d just be fashion but the same portrait you can buy in the poster store.” A year later, he produced a series of Mao portraits that today has become an icon to be found in many of the most prestigious art institutions and private collections across the globe. Warhol painted 28 portraits of Mao, of which 22 were framed. Four of them are currently on display in museums across the world and 16 are with private collectors.