Elvis Presley painting by Andy Warhol sells for $82 million

NEW YORK, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Andy Warhol's iconic 1963 painting of Elvis Presley sold for $82 million on Wednesday.

"Triple Elvis (Ferus Type)" was one of 80 pieces up for auction at Christie's in New York. Art aficionados such as Michael Ovitz, J. Tomilson Hill, Stefan Edlis and Andrew Saul attended the event, which collected a total $852.9 million.

"It's our highest total ever," worldwide chairman of postwar and contemporary art Brett Gorvy told the New York Times. "We saw a lot of new bidders tonight from the Middle East and Asia, but the biggest and most powerful buyers were still from America."

#TripleElvis, a seven-foot tall silkscreen by #AndyWarhol, sold for $81.9 million at @ChristiesInc NYC last night! pic.twitter.com/byaZTGmSyW

— One Art Nation (@OneArtNationTO) November 13, 2014

Warhol based "Triple Elvis (Ferus Type)" on a publicity shot of Presley from the 1960 film Flaming Star. The artist's 1966 painting "Four Marlons," of actor Marlon Brando from The Wild One (1953), also sold for $69.6 million.

Both "Triple Elvis (Ferus Type)" and "Four Marlons" were put up for action by German casino company WestSpiel. The works had been displayed in Casino Aachen since the late 1970s, and were purchased by unidentified telephone bidders.

Elvis Presley's ex-wife, Priscilla Presley, will bring treasured possessions from Graceland to London for the "Elvis at The O2: The Exhibition of His Life" display in December. The actress spoke fondly of the late musician last week, and declared Presley "the real deal" and "a lovely, loyal man."