McEnroe Set To Sell Warhol Portrait
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Former tennis star John McEnroe is selling a portrait Andy Warhol made of him and his ex-wife Tatum O’Neal at Sotheby’s in London next week, the auction house said Monday in an e-mailed statement.
Warhol’s acrylic and silk-screen portrait of the celebrity couple is expected to fetch up to $687,000. Proceeds will benefit Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit Christian organization that provides housing through an international network of volunteers, Sotheby’s said.
The portrait was made in 1986 after Mr. McEnroe bid “something like $30,000” at a charity auction to be painted by Warhol, according to the Daily Telegraph. The image was based on a Polaroid photograph taken by the artist.
Mr. McEnroe, 49, is now a TV commentator and art collector. He won seven Grand Slam titles during his career, including three Wimbledon titles, and married the Academy Award-winning actress, Ms. O’Neal, in 1986. They divorced in 1994.
