Metallica’s Lars Ulrich may be on the verge of setting a new auction record by selling a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting from his art collection, according to a Friday announcement by Christie's.

“Untitled (Boxer),” a 1982 painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat, will be for sale by Christie’s in New York next month. “Of course it’s an awkward time to sell, but I’ve always been about taking chances,” Mr. Ulrich said.

“I have a lot of faith in the art market,” he added. “It’s perhaps the last frontier where the best of the best will not go the way of the rest of the economy.”

Ulrich bought the piece after seeing it in a show in Vienna. The work starred as a centerpiece in the 2005 Basquiat retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum, which moved on to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

Ulrich bought the 1982 Basquiat painting "Untitled (Boxer)" in 1999. It is said that the piece is going to auction with an estimated value of $11.1 million. Basquiat's painting features a black heavyweight fighter, which the artist saw as a self-portrait. It has been hailed as an "extraordinary" piece of art by Christie's co-head of contemporary art, Brett Gorvy.

It is not the first time Ulrich has sold a Basquiat painting. Back in 2002 he sold the American graffiti artist's aptly named "Profit I" which sold for more than $5 million.

"Lars has been an incredible collector, passionate and intelligent in his approach, often pursuing specific works for several years before he made a purchase," said Brett Gorvy, Christie's international co-head of Post-War and Contemporary Art.

In the meantime Ulrich enjoys success along with his band fellows after the band’s latest album, "Death Magnetic" recently went to Number 1 in the United States and Britain, as well as in other five European countries.