Iconic Marilyn Monroe painting sells for unbelievable $195 million
Published on May 10, 2022 at 4:57 PM (UTC+4)
by Louise Cheer
Last updated on May 17, 2022 at 2:10 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
Andy Warhol’s iconic Marilyn Monroe painting has sold for an eye-watering $195 million.
Shot Sage Blue Marilyn became the most expensive 20th-century art to sell at auction on Monday at Christie’s Spring Marquee Week.
The previous record was Pablo Picasso’s Les Femmes d’Alger (Version O), worth $179.4 million. That painting sold in 2015.
Warhol’s painting was the final item in the sale of The Collection of Thomas and Doris Ammann, which featured 36 lots.
So how much did that all sell for? A tidy $317.8 million.
READ MORE: This tractor sold for the price of a new Lamborghini – but why?
Multimillion-dollar artworks sold at Christie’s auction
- Cy Twombly’s Untitled, $21 million
- Robert Ryman’s Untitled, $20.1 million
- Cy Twombly’s Venere Sopra Gaeta, $16.9 million
Another record broken during the auction was for Francesco Clemente’s The Fourteen Stations, No. XI, which sold for three times more than the last for $1.86 million.
Ann Craven’s I Wasn’t Sorry, 2003 went to a new owner for $478,000, eight times more than the previous record.
READ MORE
In a generous twist, the proceeds of the sale will be donated by the Thomas and Doris Ammann Foundation to charities that give urgent medical and educational services to kids.
READ MORE: The real-life Jurassic Park velociraptor is expected to sell for $6 million
Previous Warhol record was $103 million
Christie’s 20th and 21st-century art chairman Alex Rotter said he was “very proud” of the Shot Sage Blue Marilyn result.
“This is a big achievement not just on me but just on Warhol and Marilyn,” he said.
“If you think about Warhol prices, the Warhol record was 103 million dollars for the Silver Car Crash, this almost doubled it.
“Twentieth-century works of art, American works of art, it’s the highest price ever paid, close to 200 million dollars, let it sink in, it’s quite something.”
Johanna Flaum, who heads the auction house’s Post-War & Contemporary Art department, said Thomas had a “really special relationship with Warhol”.
DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie
Louise Cheer oversees and writes stories about the latest headlines on topics such as automotive, technology, gaming, watches, movies and lifestyle. Louise has been a news editor at Yahoo and Daily Mail in Australia, with more than 10 years of experience in the media industry.
