A topless painting of Bea Arthur who starred in the Golden Girls is set to be auctioned in New York. The painting is expected to fetch from 1.8 million to 2.5 million dollars.
Painted in 1991 by John Currin, the portrait is of the Golden Girl around the time she starred in the show Maude, according to Entertainment Weekly.
The auction, Christie’s Post War and Contemporary Art Sale, will take place tonight, May 15th, in New York City.
Arthur didn’t actually pose for the portrait by Currin, rather he painted the piece using “artistic licence” from a fully-clothed picture of Bea.
“I had a vision in my head of Bea Arthur, and I found a picture of her. I was going to put a scarf ensemble on her like that from her Maude days, and I drew the body just to drape it. It was then that I realized that the painting was fantastic as it was,” Currin said. “I loved being repelled by those two black eyes and falling back into these wonderful, soft breasts, which draw you back in.”
Arthur, who won many awards for her appearances in series over the years, died of cancer in 2009.
