LONDON: A self-portrait by British supermodel Kate Moss, drawn with lipstick and marked with her lip prints, was picked up by a private buyer on September 27 for $61,800, after failing to sell at auction.

A spokesman for Lyon & Turnbull, the auction house organising the sale, told AFP that the work was sold to an unidentified collector after the auction because the highest bid did not meet the reserve price.

“The highest bid was 25,000 pounds, which was below the reserve price” of 40,000 pounds, the spokesman said.

Moss, 34, had created the work of art while in a troubled past relationship with British musician Pete Doherty. The canvas portrait also features stains of blood belonging to rocker Doherty, who in addition has inscribed the words, “Who needs blood when you’ve got lipstick?” The Babyshambles frontman and recovering heroin addict had sold the lipstick self-portrait to an anonymous buyer who in turn put it up for auction.