British Music Experience to Host Iconic Michael Jackson Warhol Portrait

British Music Experience to Host Iconic Michael Jackson Warhol Portrait

LONDON, July 31/PRNewswire/ --

- Portrait to be Shown for Three Days Only Before Returning to The States

- With Photo

This Thursday 6th August the British Music Experience, the interactive
exhibition of popular music situated within The O2, will display Andy
Warhol's (Green) Michael Jackson portrait. The British Music Experience will
be the only European venue to host the 1984 portrait before it returns to New
York to go under the hammer. For just three days, the piece commissioned to
celebrate the world record breaking sales of the King of Pop's Thriller
album, will be added to the British Music Experience's collection.

The auction of the portrait will start with an opening bid of $800,000 -
the average auction figure reached for a comparable Warhol portrait in recent
years is $17 million. In the past the top price for a Warhol picture at
auction is $71.7 million for 'Car Crash', and the top price for a Warhol
portrait $28 million for 'Lemon Marilyn' - both sold at Christies in New York
in 2007.

Paul Lilley, British Music Experience Curator, said: "Michael Jackson's
influence on the world of pop is unparalleled. This is a perfect chance for
us to give our visitors a once in a life time opportunity before the portrait
disappears from the public eye into a private collection."

Janet Lehr, partner at the Vered Gallery, agents for the seller of the
Jackson portrait, added: "This Andy Warhol portrait brings together the
uncontested King of Pop Art with the uncontested King of Pop. The portrait
was painted at the height of their careers and is a celebration of two of the
great talents in global cultural history."

The British Music Experience is a combination of cutting edge
audio-visual technology and the most coveted music memorabilia of all time,
culminating in the creation of one of Britain's most compelling attractions.
It enables visitors to trace musical trends through the decades, learn about
music's influence on art, fashion and politics and allow visitors to download
music from the British Music Experience archive. For the genuine musical
experience members of the public can visit the Gibson Interactive Studio, a
fully integrated space within the exhibition where they can play various
Gibson guitars, Baldwin pianos and Slingerland drums. There is also a full
public and educational programme with workshops, lectures, master-classes and
concerts.

PORTRAIT DETAILS:

ANDY WARHOL (Green) Michael Jackson 1984
A UNIQUE WORK by ANDY WARHOL
Medium: Synthetic polymer paint and silkscreen inks on canvas
Year of Work:1984
Size:30 x 26 inches 76.2 x 66 cm
Signed.
This work is stamped twice by the Estate of Andy Warhol and the Andy
Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., and numbered twice
P050.464 on the overlap.

PORTRAIT EXHIBITION HISTORY:

Rio de Janeiro, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Warhol, October - December
1999. Kochi, The Museum of Art; Tokyo, The Bunkamura Museum of Art;
Umeda-Osaka, Daimaru Museum; Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art;
Kawamura Memorial Museum of Art; Nagoya City Art Museum; Niigata City Art
Museum, Andy Warhol, February 2000 - February 2001. Las Vegas, Bellagio
Gallery of Fine Art, Andy Warhol Celebrities, February - September 2003.

Notes to Editors

A picture accompanying this release is available through the PA
Photowire. It can be downloaded from http://www.pa-mediapoint.press.net or
viewed at http://www.mediapoint.press.net or http://www.prnewswire.co.uk.

Source: The British Music Experience

Lucy Ellison, Number: +44(0)208-463-2572, E-mail: lucy.ellison@aegworldwide.co.uk

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