“IT'S CALLED GOSSIP AND OF COURSE IT'S AN OBSESSION OF MINE -ANDY WARHOL

A painting of a boxer by Jean-Michel Basquiat - owned by Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich - has been sold at auction for $13.5m (£9.12m).The painting was a highlight of Christie's contemporary art auction in New York. But a Francis Bacon painting failed to sell, fuelling fears over the state of the art market. Bacon's Study for Self Portrait, billed as a highlight of the auction, had been estimated to fetch $40m (£27m).When the bidding stalled at $27.4m (£18.5m) the auction was halted.

BBC
Nov 13 2008