Bea Arthur topless portrait sells for nearly $2 million, causes Facebook stir
The ‘Golden Girls’ star gives new meaning to the show’s name as the artist-imagined subject of the painting.
A 1991 painting depicting actress Bea Arthur baring her — um, golden girls — sold for nearly $2 million at an auction in Manhattan Wednesday night.
The John Currin creation, aptly named “Bea Arthur Naked,” captures the beloved sitcom actress nude from the waist up. According to auction house Christie’s, the provocative work was imagined from a photograph of the actress with clothes on.
Notes on the auction house website describe the portrait as both “nostalgic and repelling.”