Created in 1964, at the height of Taylor’s career, the print is based on a publicity photograph from the late 1950s for Taylor’s film Butterfield 8, cropped tightly and coloured with a bright red background that contrasts Taylor’s thick, dark hair. Taylor’s romance with Cleopatra co-star Richard Burton dominated the news at the time, enticing Warhol’s love of celebrity and pop culture. In the 1970s, Warhol and Taylor became close friends and worked together to advocate for gay rights. 

In 2019, an early coloured Liz painting by Warhol, created in 1963, sold for an impressive $19,343,000 during Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary sale. This set a new record for a Liz work, surpassing the previous record of £6.7 million, established in 2010.

Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol was an iconic American artist, filmmaker, and cultural figure, best known for his groundbreaking contributions to the Pop Art movement. Born in 1928, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Warhol studied commercial art at Carnegie Institute of Technology and moved to New York City in 1949, where he began a successful career as a commercial illustrator.In the 1960s, Warhol became a leading figure in Pop Art, a movement that challenged traditional art by incorporating imagery from popular culture and mass media. His famous silk-screen prints feature Campbell's soup cans, and portraits of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, and Elizabeth Taylor. His studio, The Factory, became a cultural hub, attracting artists, musicians, and socialites.