LONDON (AFP) - - An Andy Warhol painting sold for more than US$7.5 million (S$11.11) at auction on Friday, auctioneer Sotheby's said.

"Skulls", 10 individual canvases which repeatedly represent the icon of the human skull or "the literal multiplication of death", fetched £4,353,250 (S$11.11 million), including the buyer's premium.

The canvases, created in 1976, feature identical skulls apart from their contrasting colours.

They are made up of acrylic and silkscreen ink and each is signed and dated by the artist.

Cheyenne Westphal, chairman of contemporary art for Sotheby's Europe, said the evening's sale of contemporary art fell short of its estimate, but the Warhol piece showed that buyers were still on the lookout for "works of high quality" despite the difficult economic climate.