Controversy sells; at least that's what Christie's auction house will be hoping when a nude portrait of imprisoned director Roman Polanski and his late wife Sharon Tate goes under the hammer in New York next month.

According to Reuters, the image -- reproduced as a large-scale gelatin silver print of approximately 33 by 33 inches -- was taken by photographer David Bailey in 1969, just months before Tate, her unborn child, and four friends were murdered by followers of Charles Manson in the Los Angeles home she shared with Polanski.
Controversy sells; at least that's what Christie's auction house will be hoping when a nude portrait of imprisoned director Roman Polanski and his late wife Sharon Tate goes under the hammer in New York next month.

According to Reuters, the image -- reproduced as a large-scale gelatin silver print of approximately 33 by 33 inches -- was taken by photographer David Bailey in 1969, just months before Tate, her unborn child, and four friends were murdered by followers of Charles Manson in the Los Angeles home she shared with Polanski.

It was first printed in 1988 as part of a traveling photography exhibition, and later published in Bailey's book, 'Goodbye Baby & Amen: A Saraband for the Sixties.' It will be included in the sale's exhibition from December 3 to 6 at Christie's.

Polanski has recently regained notoriety for his highly publicized September arrest in Switzerland, over 20 years after his conviction for having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl. The director of 'Rosemary's Baby' and 'Chinatown' fled the States in 1978 to avoid sentencing and likely incarceration for the crime and has yet to return, even following his 2002 Oscar win for 'The Pianist.' He is currently being held in a Swiss jail awaiting a decision on a U.S. extradition request.

"It's an important image," said Laura Paterson, vice president and a specialist in the photography department at Christie's. "It certainly is provocative because of who the characters are. But it's also a touching naked shot of a happy couple."

The portrait reportedly features the couple from the waist up, with Tate posing in profile with her right arm over her husband's shoulder, while Polanski wraps his arms around his wife's torso. Paterson notes that renowned English photographer Bailey, "does capture the 'anything goes' flavor of that period," in the photograph.

The image is one of almost 200 photos up for auction on December 7, and is estimated to fetch between $8,000 and $12,000 on the block, though organizers admit it could sell for much higher given Polanski's current controversy and the portrait's tragic history.