U2 Owned Basquiat Painting Fetches 5 Million At Auction

A painting by the late US artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, which was owned by U2, has sold for just over £5 million at auction.

Untitled (Pecho/Oreja), which was purchased by the band in 1989, was sold to a private European buyer at Sotherby's in London.

The painting, which had been expected to raise £6million, originally caught the eye of U2's bassist Adam Clayton and had hung in the bands rehearsal studios in Dublin.

Basquiat began his career as a graffiti artist in New York but became known for his elaborate paintings, which still influence artists today.

The current record for a piece of Basquiat's art stands at £7.4million.