Drunk Art Expert Hugh Grant

Drunk Art Expert Hugh Grant

Hugh Grant was drunk when he bought a painting of Elizabeth Taylor which made him £11 million.

The 'Did You Hear About the Morgans?' star purchased the Andy Warhol painting in 2001 for £2 million and was praised for his knowledge of the art world when he sold it for £13 million in 2007.

But Hugh, 49, has confessed he ordered a member of his staff to bid for the painting at a New York auction during two-days of drinking.

He is quoted by the Mail Online website as saying: "To my horror, she did, and even worse, got it. It all began with drink. I'd been having a drunken dinner with my father the night before, and I said, 'We ought to go see my brother Jamie. You know, the Concorde's amazing.'

'And he said, 'I hear it is.' So I bought him a Concorde ticket and we went. We had lunch, drank a lot of beer. And I was thinking about some stuff in the Sotheby's auction and I saw the Liz Taylor. I slightly regret selling it now, even though it made me rich."

The pop art painting was one of several portraits Warhol created at the height of his fame and creative output in the 60s.