Warhol began his series of silk-screen portraits of Mao in 1972 when ties between then Cold War foes China and US began to thaw. (Photo via Sotheby's)HONG KONG - An Andy Warhol portrait of former Chinese leader Chairman Mao Zedong was sold on Chinese soil Sunday for US$12.6 million (433 million baht) - much less than the US$15 million it expected to fetch. Warhol began his series of silk-screen portraits of Mao in 1972 when ties between then Cold War foes China and US began to thaw after the historic trip to Beijing by US President Richard Nixon. Just four years ago, during the first comprehensive survey of Warhol's art in China, the Mao portraits were nowhere to be seen. The images immortalised the founder of China's Communist Party as a Pop Art commodity, in the vein of Warhol's Marilyn Monroe and Campbell's Soup Cans.

Source: Bangkok Post April 02, 2017 17:01 UTC