A Warhol Museum in the Middle East?

Andy Warhol The Week That Was (August 22 – 29, 2008) Conversation with Dave Hickey—Part 2 Artists' Dispute Over Alleged Warhol to Go Forward The Color of Money Cary Leibowitz in New York Kevin Spacey to Lend Voice to Sculptures Robert Mnuchin

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A source close to the family confirmed negotiations were under way and further indicated that the buyer intends to establish a Warhol museum in the region of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where six ambitious museum building projects are already paired with super-star architects.

Earlier this month, the Louvre signed a billion-euro deal with Sheikh Khalifa al-Nahayan, emir of Abu Dhabi, to establish a satellite museum on the uninhabited Saadiyat Island.

The source also indicated that the close-knit Mugrabi family was debating the merits of the deal, since it would knock them out of their prime position as super-players in the wildly buoyant and action-packed Warhol market.

The Mugrabis own a number of Warhol masterpieces, including Twenty Marilyns (1962), which they acquired at Sotheby’s in November 1988 for a then-record $3.96 million. Today that work would easily command in excess of $40 million.