Warhol’s McEnroe and O’Neal portrait to be auctioned; you cannot be serious?

The portrait of the eighties’ golden couple of John McEnroe and actress Tatum O’Neal, which was painted by Pop-Art master Andy Warhol, is to be auctioned by Sotheby’s auction house.

On Tuesday July 1st the painting, which carries an estimate of between £250,000 and £300,000 is going under the hammer, with all proceeds set to go to the philanthropic organisation Habitat for Humanity.

The painting is one of Warhol’s finest works and represents his era of painting larger than life iconic celebrities during their prime, such as his works of Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe. Both McEnroe and O’Neal were at the top of their game at the time of the painting. John McEnroe was a world number one, and a Wimbledon and US Open tennis champion. Tatum O’Neal was a successful Hollywood actress who had won an Oscar at aged ten.

McEnroe even commented about the experience of being immortalised in one of Andy Warhol’s paintings, in his autobiography:

Was I overly impressed? A bit star struck? Maybe. Maybe Tatum was too. It’s a funny thing when two well-known people meet: There’s an immediate magnetism, because you seem to have so many things in common – not the least of which is that you both instantly feel liberated from what the rest of the world usually demands.

If you don’t have over a quarter of a million pounds to spare for this painting, you could have your own photos on canvas in the same pop-art style.