Andy Warhol portrait ‘Marilyn’ sells for record $195 million

by 24britishtvMay 10, 2022, 9 a.m. 36
-

Andy Warhol’s Shot Safe Blue Marilyn has just set a record as the highest-priced American artwork ever sold at auction. The iconic silkscreen was one of the many Monroe artworks auctioned by Christie’s in New York and sold for $195 million.

That stunning fee is the highest for any American artwork and the highest for a 20th-century artwork sold at auction, beating a record previously held by Pablo Picasso’s Les Femmes d’Alger (Version O) ($179.4 million) and a 1982 painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat ($110.5 million). As of yet, the buyer of Shot Sage Blue Marilyn has not been announced,

Alongside Mark Rothko, Basquiat, Pollock and Roy Lichtenstein, Warhol’s works are some of the most sought-after among collectors of American art, with his Marilyn series being some of the most iconic in the modern canon.

Warhol’s obsession with Hollywood darlings such as Marilyn Monroe can be traced back to his childhood. As a reclusive child, Andy Warhol pored over glamour magazines, cutting out pictures of Hollywood starlets for his movie star scrapbook. He even went so far as to send letters to Hollywood casting studios to ask for pictures that he couldn’t get anywhere else. In 1964, this fascination led Warhol to churn out over a dozen portraits of Monroe, each based on an image of the actress taken from the little-known 1953 film Niagara.

Speaking ahead of the auction, Alex Rotter, chairman of 20th and 21st Century Art at Christie’s, said: “Once you see the image, you will recognize that you’re actually much more familiar with Warhol’s vision of Marilyn than with the old movie shots from Marilyn herself.”

While the final price of Shot Sage Blue Marilyn is pretty mind-bending, it’s peanuts compared to the most expensive 20th-century painting ever sold: Willem De Kooning’s Interchange sold for $300 million in 2015. The hedge fund manager who bought the artwork also took the opportunity to grab a Jackson Pollock for no less than $200 million And here we are worrying about the price of milk.

Follow Far Out Magazine across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

-

Related Articles

HOT TRENDS

Two people dead due to Storm Nelson

by 24britishtvMarch 28, 2024, 7 p.m.2
HOT TRENDS

Assisted dying: what are the laws in UK and what changes are proposed?

by 24britishtvMarch 28, 2024, 7 p.m.2
HOT TRENDS

Sam Bankman-Fried live updates: 'Crypto King' sentenced to 25 years prison

by 24britishtvMarch 28, 2024, 6 p.m.2
HOT TRENDS

Storm Nelson brings snow in Devon raising fears of Easter travel chaos

by 24britishtvMarch 28, 2024, 6 p.m.2
HOT TRENDS

Could assisted dying be coming to Scotland?

by 24britishtvMarch 28, 2024, 4 p.m.2
HOT TRENDS

Larry Lloyd | 1948 - 2024

by 24britishtvMarch 28, 2024, 4 p.m.2
HOT TRENDS

Happy Easter in a plastic egg •

by 24britishtvMarch 28, 2024, 4 p.m.2
HOT TRENDS

A closer look: can right whales and offshore wind safely coexist?

by 24britishtvMarch 28, 2024, 4 p.m.2
HOT TRENDS

Thames Water boss says bills need to rise by 40%

by 24britishtvMarch 28, 2024, 3 p.m.2
HOT TRENDS

A closer look: can right whales and offshore wind safely coexist?

by 24britishtvMarch 28, 2024, 2 p.m.2
HOT TRENDS

Richarlison considered quitting football during post-World Cup depression

by 24britishtvMarch 28, 2024, 7 a.m.2
HOT TRENDS

Richarlison had dark thoughts after World Cup

by 24britishtvMarch 28, 2024, 2 a.m.2
HOT TRENDS

Gogglebox star George Gilbey has died aged 40

by 24britishtvMarch 28, 2024, midnight2
HOT TRENDS

Households with washing machine told to stop using two temperatures

by 24britishtvMarch 27, 2024, 11 p.m.2
HOT TRENDS

Professor T review — Ben Miller’s jailed sleuth evokes Paddington 2

by 24britishtvMarch 27, 2024, 11 p.m.2
HOT TRENDS

Former England captain Houghton to retire

by 24britishtvMarch 27, 2024, 11 p.m.2
HOT TRENDS

Professor T, series 3, review: a show as awkward as Ben Miller’s sleuth

by 24britishtvMarch 27, 2024, 10 p.m.2
HOT TRENDS

Gogglebox's George Gilbey, 40, dies after fall from height

by 24britishtvMarch 27, 2024, 10 p.m.2