AN arts lover, from Tiverton, has said he has not been left downhearted after he failed to sell, what is believed to be an original Andy Warhol sketch on eBay.

Andy Fields bought the drawing for just £3 at a garage sale in Las Vegas, and put it on eBay's UK site with a reserve of £1,250,000.

However, after no one bid, the businessman is still confident he can find a buyer in America after revealing he has what is believed to be a second Warhol sketch.

He hopes the revelation will help prove the first one's authenticity after the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board dissolved in January, leaving Andy with no way or proving his is real.

Andy, who has now put the first picture up for sale again, said: “I am selling it on eBay because I don't know how I am going to get it 100% validated. I'm in a catch 22.

He added: “It doesn't matter that it didn't sell the first time. The biggest market is the American market and they couldn't even find it on the UK site.

“I have had nothing but positive messages and I did have some offers in the high six figures.”

The deal could represent the largest ever made on the popular auction site, rivalled only by the sale of aeroplanes, yachts and dates with millionaires.

Andy bought the drawings as part of a lot in 2010 from a man who used to know Warhol in his youth.

The first, which depicts singer and actor Rudy Vallée, was signed, and Andy quickly began his quest to find out its value.

However, it wasn't until two years later Andy suspected he may have unwittingly bought a second Andy Warhol piece.

Experts have told him this one is a pencil drawing of actress Maureen O' Hara.

Andy said: “It first came to light last April when I was being interviewed by the TV stations in the UK.

“One reporter said to me, 'who is that sketch by?' I replied, 'I have no idea as it is unsigned'.”

“We then both noticed at the same time that it was on exactly the same paper as the Rudy Vallée sketch and had come from the same pad. I was in disbelief.”

He added that it was only after the Warhol foundation released 300 previously unseen drawings by Warhol this week that he realised his was identical and his suspicions were confirmed.

An independent art appraiser has valued the pencil and graphite sketch of Rudy Vallée at £1.3m but he has been told it could be worth ten times that.

Experts believe the piece was done by Warhol when he was around 11 years-old and just starting to learn how to draw.

This dates the piece back to 1940 - moving the birth of pop art back by almost two decades.

Andy, who runs an internet company, said: “Many people believe this to be the earliest known pop art piece that Andy Warhol ever created.

“The most important thing is that the Warhol fans appreciate it and get the benefit. I don't want it stuck in a vault of mine.”

Keep reading The Star to find out if Andy managed to find a new home for the one-off piece.