Iconic Hollywood star Ryan O’Neal is quietly shopping a famed Andy Warhol portrait of his ex, Farrah Fawcett, for as much as $18 million, Page Six has exclusively learned.
A source added O’Neal wants the Warhol to be in the hands of an art collector, and doesn’t want to leave the work to his grown kids.
The painting has previously been at the center of controversy: In 2013, a jury ruled that O’Neal could keep the artwork after the University of Texas claimed Fawcett left it to the school in her will. At the time of the legal dispute, the portrait was valued in court by experts to be worth up to $12 million.
An art insider told Page Six, “Ryan O’Neal is quietly trying to unload his Warhol portrait of his ex, Farrah Fawcett. Initially, he wanted $20 million, but it’s now marked down to $18 million.” The source added O’Neal would be “willing to let it go for less.” The painting is being shopped with documentation including a March 22, 2018, letter by an appraiser that pegs its worth between $21 million and $24 million.
The paperwork also explains the piece’s provenance. It was “painted by the artist in 1980 [as] one of a pair given to the actress and her common-law husband Ryan O’Neal … It’s actually one of two portraits of Fawcett by Warhol. The other one was left by her to the University of Texas which tried in court to take possession of both.”
O’Neal and “Charlie’s Angels” legend Fawcett never married, but were together from 1979 to 1997, and again from 2001 until her death in 2009. They had a son, Redmond, who’s been jailed since May 2018 for allegedly committing a string of violent crimes, and for heroin and meth possession.
Ryan has three other grown children: Oscar-winner Tatum and her brother Griffin (with ex-wife Joanna Moore), and sportscaster Patrick (with second ex, Leigh Taylor-Young).
Meanwhile, Ryan’s been facing health issues. In 2012, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. A rep for O’Neal did not comment.