Andy Warhol's iconic pictures of the Queen are set to raise a king's ransom
- Prints of Queen Elizabeth II expected to fetch £150,000
- Up for auction alongside legendary artist's homage to Edvard Munch
A set of unique Andy Warhol prints are due to go under the hammer, including four of the Queen of England.
Reigning Queens: Queen Elizabeth II (Royal Edition) series is estimated to fetch up to £150,000 at Sotheby’s in London.
The four prints are going on sale in the Old Master, Modern and Contemporary Prints auction on Wednesday.
Royal art: Andy Warhol's Reigning Queens: Queen Elizabeth ll, a set of four screen prints is expected to fetch up to £150,000 at next week's auction
Warhol, who once said 'I want to be as famous as the Queen of England', made the prints in 1985.
The auction also includes Warhol’s screenprint of Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’ as well as interpretations of the Norwegian artist’s ‘Eva Mudocci’ and ‘Madonna and Self-Portrait with Skeleton’s Arm’.
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Whilst the original of The Scream recently sold for £75 million at auction is estimated that Warhol’s homage to Munch will fetch £300,000 .
Pop artist Warhol, who died in 1987, was fascinated by the Norwegian artist haunting masterpieces which includes ‘The Scream’ from 1893.
Up for grabs: A member of staff at Sotheby's auction house in London adjusts one of the prints in the series
Royal colours: The prints of the Queen are part of the Old Master, Modern and Contemporary Prints auction next Wednesday
In 1984 the American created a series of unique screenprints of Munch’s most famous pieces.
In his unmistakable style, he recreated The Scream, the masterpiece described as ‘one of the most instantly recognisable motifs in both art history and modern culture’.
The artist made a number of changes to the Munch’s original motif, emphasising the basic features of the figure to create a cartoon-like face and adding his own choice of bright colours.
The Reigning Queens: Queen Elizabeth II (Royal Edition) prints were made by Warhol in 1985
A statement from Sotheby’s said the ‘exceptional colour prints’ were the top lots at the forthcoming sale.
Experts have estimated the Madonna and Self Portrait could fetch £300,000, while the Eva Mudocci screenprint is expected to sell for around £150,000.
The auction house added: ‘Striking, unique and groundbreaking works, The Scream, Eva Mudocci and Madonna and Self-Portrait with Skeleton’s Arm are a rare and enterprising offering from Warhol - a meeting between two of the finest artists of the 20th century.’
Homage: Also on sale are a series of prints of famous paintings by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch interpreted by Andy Warhol, such as 'The Scream (after Munch)' estimated to fetch up to £300,000
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