Pop artist Andy Warhol’s famed 1964 silk-screen portrait of Marilyn Monroe sold for $195m (R3.14bn) at auction on Monday, a record for a work by an American artist.
Shot Sage Blue Marilyn is one in a series of portraits Warhol made of the actress after her death in 1962 and has since become one of pop art’s best-known pieces.
Held in the collection of Swiss art dealers Thomas and Doris Ammann, it was sold by Christie’s at an auction in New York. Pre-sale estimates had reached as high as $200m (R3.22bn).
'Shot Sage Blue Marilyn' is the absolute pinnacle of American Pop. The painting transcends the genre of portraiture, superseding 20th-century art and culture.
— Alex Rotter, chair of 20th- and 21st-century art at Christie’s
The painting sold for a hammer price of $170m (R2.7bn). Added fees gave it a final price of $195m (R3.14bn).
The sale broke the previous record for an American art work at auction of $110.5m (R1.8bn) set in 2017 for a 1982 painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat.
“Shot Sage Blue Marilyn is the absolute pinnacle of American Pop,” Alex Rotter, chair of 20th- and 21st-century art at Christie’s, said Alex Rotter, chair of 20th- and 21st-century art at Christie’s. “The painting transcends the genre of portraiture, superseding 20th century art and culture.”
The painting is built on a promotional photo of Monroe from the 1953 film Niagara, screened with bright colours over her eyes, hair and lips.
Its title refers to an incident in which a woman shot at a stack of four Marilyn portraits in Warhol’s studio with a pistol, though Shot Sage Blue Marilyn was not struck by a bullet.
Monroe was one of Hollywood’s best-known stars before her death of an overdose at her home in Los Angeles on August 4 1962.
— Reuters
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.