An iconic portrait of Marilyn Monroe by American pop art visionary Andy WARHOL went under the hammer for a record $195 million on Monday at Christie’s, becoming the most expensive 20th-century artwork ever sold at a public auction.
Andy Warhol stands in front of his double portrait of Marilyn Monroe at the Tate Gallery in London
“Shot Sage Blue Marilyn,” produced in 1964 two years after the death of the glamorous Hollywood star, sold for exactly $195.04 million, including fees, in just four minutes in a crowded room at Christie’s headquarters in Manhattan.
The previous record was set in 2015 when a 1955 painting by Pablo Picasso – Les Femmes d’Alger (Version O) – sold for $179.4m.
It has also become the most expensive work by an American artist to be sold at auction. The record was previously held by a 1982 skull painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Warhol’s sometime friend, collaborator and rival, which sold for $110.5m in 2017.
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