A portrait by Andy Warhol of the late singer Michael Jackson is set to be auctioned² in New York.

Andy Warhol之作--Michael Jackson的肖像将于纽约被拍卖。

The portrait was commissioned to celebrate Thriller's record sales

The 1984 portrait will be on show ahead of the sale at London's British Music Experience, inside the O2 Arena³, where Jackson had been due to perform.

"This Andy Warhol portrait brings together the uncontested King of Pop Art with the uncontested King of Pop," said Janet Lehr, acting⁴ for the seller.

Warhol's painting of actress Liz Taylor, fetched $23.7m (£14m) in 2007.

In the same year, the 1963 painting Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I) - depicting⁵（描述） an overturned car on fire - sold for $71.7m (£42.8m), a record for a Warhol piece.

"The portrait was painted at the height of their careers and is a celebration of two of the great talents in global cultural history," said Ms Lehr, of the Jackson artwork.

American artist Warhol was a leading figure in the Pop Art movement, and he experimented by creating artworks from mass-produced images from American popular culture.

He died in 1987, following a gall⁶（胆囊） bladder（膀胱） operation.

Autopsy⁷ results

The British Music Experience will be the only European venue⁸（犯罪地点，发生地点） to host the 1984 portrait ahead of the auction¹.

Earlier this week it was announced that details of Michael Jackson's autopsy（验尸） results would be announced imminently⁹.

Speculation¹⁰ continues about the possible role prescription¹¹ drugs（须医生处方才可买的药品） played in the singer's death.

The singer suffered a cardiac arrest（心搏停止） at his rented home in Los Angeles on 25 June, at the age of 50.