$1 bill set to be turned into $26m at London auction

Andy Warhol painting of $1 bill set to be turned into $26m at London auction

A painting of a one dollar bill can be bought in London next week. You will, however, need as much as $26m to buy it.

The work by Andy Warhol, Silver Certificate, is part of the most valuable contemporary art auction that has been staged in the capital.

On Wednesday, Sotheby’s will sell art with a pre-sale estimate of between £143.2m and £204.6m, including an important Pope painting by Francis Baconand a significant number of works by living British artists such as Peter Doig, David Hockney, Paula Rego and Howard Hodgkin.

At Christie’s on Tuesday, the total estimate is lower (£82m-£117m) but a world record price for the artist is expected for a spectacular work by Chris Ofili, The Holy Virgin Mary, which famously attracted the ire of the former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who described it as “sick stuff” and tried to close down an exhibition featuring the work.

Contemporary art prices are unquestionably going through the roof, with a string of auction records for living artists in the past year.