U2 Could Get $12 Million for Basquiat Painting

U2 plans to auction off a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat, which has been hanging at their studio in Dublin for the past 20 years, at a Sotheby's Contemporary Art auction in London on July 1. The painting, purchased by the band in 1989 after being spotted at a New York gallery by bassist Adam Clayton, is expected to sell for as much as $11.7 million.

The 6-foot-square acrylic, oil stick and collage canvas -- which was created in 1982 when the artist was 22 years old -- isn't expected to rival the auction record for a Basquiat work, which was $14.6 million, reports Bloomberg. Basquiat -- who had an interest in music that he manifested through his art -- died in 1988 of a drug overdose.

Known as 'Untitled (Pecho/Oreja),' and featuring Basquiat's trademark primitive mask motif, Clayton found the piece at the Robert Miller Gallery and convinced his bandmates to collectively buy the painting.

Add your comments

If you are posting a comment for the first time, please enter your name and email address in the fields above. Your name will be displayed with your comment. Your email address will never be displayed.

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Off-topic, promotional or otherwise inappropriateinappropriate comments will be removed.

When you enter your name and email address for the first time, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, as well as a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.