Basquiat artwork fetches over £5m

The painting by Basquiat has sold for more than £5m

A piece of art owned by rock band U2 has sold for more than £5m at an auction held in London.

The painting - Untitled (Pecho/Oreja) by late US artist Jean-Michel Basquiat - was bought by U2 in New York in 1989 and hung in their Dublin studios.

The painting, which was first spotted by bassist Adam Clayton, was auctioned at Sotheby's.

Basquiat, originally a graffiti artist in New York, died from a suspected drug overdose in 1988.

A spokesman for Sotheby's said the artwork sold for £5,081,250 to a European private buyer. The current auction record for a Basquiat work stands at $14.6m (£7.4m).

Oliver Barker, of Sotheby's, said: "It seems especially appropriate that a work by Basquiat should end up at a music studio, since so much has been said about the relationship between his art and music."

In 1996, director Julian Schnabel directed the film Basquiat, based on the artist's life and starring Gary Oldman and David Bowie.

Basquiat's paintings continue to influence young artists.