New York – Pink face, ruby red lips, yellow hair and blue eye shadow – this Marilyn is probably the most famous image of the Hollywood icon. Now it also became the most expensive at one auction offered paintings of the 20th century.
On Monday, Christie’s auctioned the 1964 screen print “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” by pop artist Andy Warhol for a record sum of around 185 million euros. The portrait is the second most expensive painting in history and the most expensive 20th-century work of art ever auctioned.
Confidence in the art market is unbroken and even stronger than before the pandemic, the major New York auction houses announce before the start of the spring auctions.
The current top 10
1 – By far the most expensive painting in history is “Salvator Mundi‘ by the Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci. It was auctioned at Christie’s in New York in November 2017 for a staggering $450.3 million. The Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is said to be behind the purchase, but this has never been confirmed.
The Salvator mundi (Latin for “savior of the world” or “saviour of the world”) – is it by Leonardo da Vinci or not?Photo: picture alliance / ZUMAPRESS.com
The Warhol picture will probably not beat the record of the painting “Salvator Mundi” from the early 16th century.
2 – In second place comes “The Women of Algiers (Version O)” from Pablo Picasso. The 1955 oil painting was sold at Christie’s in New York in May 2015 for $179.4 million.
3 – The painting “recumbent nude‘ by the Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani auctioned.
4 – Again Amedeo Modiglianionce again “recumbent nudeAnother work from the same series by the painter fetched $157.2 million at Sotheby’s in New York in May 2018.
5 – “Three Studies by Lucian Freud‘, a triptych by the Irish-born British painter Francis Bacon, was auctioned at Christie’s in New York in November 2013 for $142.4 million. The work was created in 1969.
6 – The highest price for the work of a Chinese artist was in December 2017 for “Twelve landscape paintings‘ of the painter Qi Baishi paid. The 1925 work fetched $140.8 million at an auction at Poly Auction in Beijing.
7 – The famous work “The Scream‘ by the Norwegian Expressionist Edward Munch was auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York in May 2012 for $119.9 million.
8 – With the oil painting “Young girl with basket of flowers‘ is from 1905 Pablo Picasso once again included in the ranking. The Spanish painter’s Pink Period work fetched $115 million at Christie’s in New York in May 2018.
9 – “haystack‘ by the French impressionist Claude Monet was auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York in May 2019 for $110.7 million. The painting is part of a series of pictures in which Monet depicted hay and grain stacks in constantly changing light and weather conditions in the winter of 1890/91.
10 – A painting “Untitled‘ by the African American painter Jean Michel Basquiat from 1982 was auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York in May 2017 for $110.5 million. Never before has more money been paid for a painting created after 1980 at an auction.
Warhol’s Marilyn and What’s Next
The work, based on a photo, is nothing less than “one of the greatest paintings of all time” and “the most important picture of the 20th century to be auctioned in this generation,” says Alex Rotter, responsible for Christie’s Art of the 20th and 21st centuries. Christie’s is selling the work on behalf of the Thomas and Doris Ammann Foundation based in Zurich. “Andy Warhol’s Marilyn is the absolute pinnacle of American pop and the promise of the American Dream, encompassing optimism, fragility, fame and iconography all at once.”
Andy Warhol’s 1964 painting ‘Shot Sage Blue Marilyn’ is on display at Christie’s showroom on Sunday, May 8, 2022 in New York CityPhoto: Ted Shaffrey/AP
Christie’s is already raving about its “best season so far” and Sotheby’s is offering, among other things, the second part of the Macklowe collection, the first part of which set records at the autumn auctions last year – with works by, among others Gerhard Richter, Mark Rothko, Sigmar Polke and Willem de Kooning.
Sotheby’s also has high hopes for the Spanish artist’s painting “Femme nue couchée”. Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) from 1932, which could fetch more than $60 million, and from a Venice painting by the French painter Claude Monet (1840-1926), estimated at around $50 million.
“We look forward to another billion-dollar sales week,” said Brooke Lampley, manager at Sotheby’s, at a preview of the offering. “It will be one of the largest auction series in our history.”