Andy Warhol's turquoise-background Elizabeth Taylor portrait sold for US$23.7 million Tuesday at Christie's auction house, a spokeswoman said.

An anonymous bidder bought the portrait, Liz (Colored Liz), from a private collector. The sale price, which included the auction house's commission, fell below pre-sale estimates of US$25 million to US$35 million.

The 40-by-40-inch portrait is part of a series Warhol created in the 1960s of his muses including Taylor, Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy.

Warhol completed Liz (Colored Liz) in 1963 about the same time Taylor suffered from a life-threatening illness. The painting is one of a series of a dozen and features a turquoise background and colorful eye shadow, violet eyes and red lipstick.

Also as part of Christie's art sale, Diamond (Blue), a sculpture from Jeff Koons' 1994-2005 "Celebration" series, was sold to the Gagosian Gallery for US$11.8 million, Christie's spokeswoman Milena Sales said. Its pre-sale estimate was US$12 million.

The top seller at the auction was Mark Rothko's 1995 Untitled (Red, Blue, Orange), which was sold to an anonymous bidder for US$34.2 million, slightly higher than its pre-auction estimate.

(Agencies via China Daily November 14, 2007)