The auction of a portrait of Michael Jackson by Andy Warhol appeared Thursday to have met a lower sale price than initially expected.
The Vered Gallery on Long Island, outside New York, originally predicted anything up to $10 million for the 1984 picture. After the auction closed late Wednesday the auctioneers said it had gone in the range of millions.
On Thursday, however, a new statement said only that the winner of the auction paid over $1 million for the unique work of art.
The buyer remained anonymous and the final price paid remains undisclosed, the statement added.
The auction came less than two months after the pop king s death.
The portrait, measuring 76.2 by 66 centimeters, was purchased for $278,500 in May at the Sotheby s auction house.
The owner decided to sell after Jackson s sudden death created a wave of interest in memorabilia. -AFP
