Metallica drummer set to hit £6m with sale of Basquiat Boxer

A work by graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat is being sold by Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich and is expected to make more than £6million.

Untitled (Boxer), which has never been seen in Britain before, goes on display today at Christie's in London prior to auction in New York on 12 November. It can be viewed until the end of next week.

The painting features a black heavyweight fighter which the artist saw as a self-portrait.

Brett Gorvy, Christie's co-head of contemporary art, described it as "extraordinary". "Untitled (Boxer) is the very best of the artist," he said.

The work is regarded as distinctively Basquiat and was the highlight of a retrospective held in 2005-2006 in New York, Los Angeles and Houston. Ulrich has owned it for a decade.

It could exceed the current record for the artist's work at auction, which is for an untitled Basquiat from 1981 which made more than £7million last year.

London audiences have had few chances to see works by Basquiat. There was a show at the ICA in 1984 and one at the Serpentine in 1996.

The Brooklyn-born painter found fame as a graffiti artist before becoming part of the thriving New York scene showing alongside artists such as Julian Schnabel.

He dated Madonna when she was unknown and became a friend of and collaborator with Andy Warhol. He died in 1988 aged 27 of a drugs overdose.

Ulrich said: "As a collector, I view myself as a caretaker of works of art, rather than simply an owner. I have been fortunate enough to have shared 10 great years with this truly iconic painting by Basquiat and it is time to put it back into circulation and let someone else enjoy it as much as I have over the last decade."

Ulrich, 44, who grew up in Copenhagen, has a sizeable art collection. He is best known for co-founding Metallica.