MOSCOW, March 21 (RIA Novosti) - The Christie’s auction house said on Wednesday it had sold Andy Warhol’s limited edition print of Vladimir Lenin, the father of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, for over $202,000.
According to The Times, the print was previously owned by self-exiled Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky. The paper said, citing “sources familiar with the oligarch’s affairs,” that the artwork was auctioned “to pay off creditors and legal bills.”
The portrait, dated 1987 and headlined “Red Lenin,” was sold well above its pre-sale estimate of $45,000 - $75,500. It was described by Christie’s as a "screen print in colors”, which is "in excellent condition."
In August 2012, Berezovsky lost a legal battle against Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich. The 65-year-old tycoon sought about $4.7 billion in damages, accusing his former business partner of intimidating him into selling shares in Russian oil giant Sibneft below their true value.
In July 2011 Berezovsky’s ex-wife, 53-year-old Galina Besharova, won a divorce settlement which the British media described as the English legal system's largest ever divorce payout, rumored to be worth up to 220 million British pounds (over $330 million).
In January, the judge presiding over another legal case involving Berezovsky issued a ruling describing the businessman as “a man under financial pressure.”
Updated changing headline at 09:38
