NEW YORK (AP) – Andy Warhol’s “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” sold for $195 million on Monday, making the iconic portrait of Marilyn Monroe the most expensive work ever sold by an American artist at auction.
A 1964 silkscreen image shows Monroe in vibrant close-up – hair yellow, eyeshadow blue and lips red – on a rich blue background. According to Christie’s auction house in New York, where the sale took place, it is the most expensive piece of the 20th century to date.
Warhol’s sales ousted the previous record holder and another modern master, Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose 1982 skull-like face painting “Untitled” sold for a record $110.5 million at Sotheby’s in 2017.
Christie’s said an unidentified buyer made the purchase Monday night. When the auction was announced earlier this year, they estimated it could go up to $200 million.
“It’s an amazing price,” said Alex Rotter, president of Christie’s 20th and 21st Century Art Department. “Let it sink in, that’s enough.”
“This is where we clearly wanted to be,” said Christie’s CEO Guillaume Cerutti. “It proves that we are in a very flexible art market.”
The proceeds of the sale will go to the Thomas and Doris Ammann Foundation Zurich, which put the painting up for auction. The Foundation aims to help children with health care and educational programs.
Warhol created more than one image of Monroe; This particular painting has been displayed in museums around the world.
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