An iconic portrait of China’s Communist leader Mao Zedong by Andy Warhol will be up for auction for the first time in China on April 1 at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong.

The portrait, dating back to 1973, is expected to fetch between $12 million and $15 million.

“It is the most expensive painting from a western artist in Sotheby’s Hong Kong,” the auction house’s Asia head Isaure de Viel Castel said Friday.

Warhol began painting Mao’s portraits when ties between the United States and China began to improve after President Richard Nixon’s visit to Beijing in 1972.

He painted 28 portraits of Mao, 22 were framed which followed similar earlier works on Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley

Four of the Mao’s are currently on display in museums across the world and 16 are with private collectors. EFE

Mao’s portrait lead to Warhol painting hundreds of other in a similar fashion.