Marilyn Monroe
195 million dollars for Andy Warhol’s portrait
This picture costs 195 million dollars.
© imago/UPI Photo
Andy Warhol’s famous portrait of Marilyn Monroe was auctioned in New York for a record $195 million.
Andy Warhol’s (1928-1987) famous silkscreen portrait of Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) has changed hands. The 1964 work sold for $195 million at an auction in New York. The picture thus sets a new record for a work by an American artist. It is also “the most expensive work of art of the 20th century sold at auction”, as announced by the auction house Christie’s.
“Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” is one of a series of portraits Warhol made of the actress after Monroe’s death in 1962. It is one of the most famous works of Pop Art and shows the Hollywood star in front of a turquoise background with yellow hair, blue eye shadow and red lips.
Estimated up to 200 million
The portrait of Marilyn Monroe belonged to the collection of a Swiss foundation before it was now auctioned by Christie’s. Pre-sale estimates were up to $200 million. According to the auction house’s website, the proceeds should go to charity.
The Warhol painting itself was reportedly sold for $170 million, according to media reports. Additional fees resulted in a final price of $195 million. The previous record for an American artwork at auction was $110.5 million, paid in 2017 for a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988).
Unlike some private sales was at auction, according to CNN Only once has a work of art priced over $200 million – it was Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi”, which sold for over $450 million in 2017. The previous auction record for a 20th-century painting was $179.4 million paid for Pablo Picasso’s Les Femmes d’Alger (Version O) in 2015.