Winehouse Own Blood Portrait to Be Auctioned Off for $129,000? (VIDEO)
Former Libertine front man Pete Doherty will auction off a portrait of Amy Winehouse, which contains the singer's blood.
Doherty, an English musician, has been criticized for his artworks before. While some suggested that his paintings promoted illegal substances, others have stated that his work is comparable with that of a 4-year-old, despite the fact that the singer uses his own blood.
"It's not got any artistic merit. He's using his blood to make them interesting, but when you look at them they're what any four-year-old can do." David West, the owner of London's Decima gallery, told India Times in 2008 after viewing one of the singer's early exhibitions.
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During Winehouse's lifetime, it was rumored that her and Doherty had been far more than friends. Both musicians however, constantly insisted that the pair was just "very close."
"When Amy died I was sat in a matchbox room in Camden Town, not able to leave, basically wallowing in my own filth. Literally knee-deep in sh*t. Literally not able to move," Doherty told NME music magazine. "I couldn't speak, I couldn't see anyone, I couldn't pick up the guitar and when I did pick up the guitar it was woeful ballads about how Amy wouldn't be coming round tonight. It wasn't a very inspiring time."
Although Doherty's work has been criticized, many of the other paintings that he will be auctioning off in London later this week are projected to get around $15,000 a piece. The one which uses Amy Winehouse's blood is expected to get much more.
"Amy was on the phone to her dad when she did that [painting]. She said, 'Dad, I'm with Pete and he's making me draw with my blood!' He didn't like me much, her dad," Doherty admitted to The Independent before his exhibition in February.
Amy Winehouse's blood portrait has been estimated to go for anywhere from $80,000 to $129,000.
