Cathy Naso, who at 17 worked part-time at Andy Warhol's famed Factory, will auction this 1965 Warhol self-portrait as part of Sotheby's Nov. 11 sale of contemporary art. (Sotheby's/Associated Press) An Andy Warhol self-portrait that has sat in a closet for more than four decades is set to be auctioned in New York in November.

Cathy Naso, who worked part-time as a receptionist at the pop artist's famed Factory studio in New York when she was 17, has decided to sell the painting.

Warhol, who created the painting in 1965, gave the work to Naso two years later. He also inscribed the work to her, writing: "To Cathy (2 years late)."

Though the Brooklyn-based Naso did display the vibrantly coloured canvas for several years, she acknowledged that she put it away in a closet where it remained until recently.

The painting, expected to fetch upwards of $1 million US and currently on display at Sotheby's in New York, will be featured as part of the auctioneer's New York's Nov. 11 sale of contemporary art.

With files from The Associated Press