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Andy Warhol Marilyn Monroe painting sells for record price at auction

Andy Warhol Marilyn Monroe painting sells for record price at auction
'Shot Sage Blue Marilyn' is one of the most iconic images of the actress.

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Andy Warhol’s 1964 painting of Marilyn Monroe has sold for a record-breaking £157.8 million at auction.

The colourful piece was released in 1964 – two years after the star’s death.

‘Shot Sage Blue Marilyn’ went on to become one of Warhol’s best-known creations, and one of the most iconic images associated with the actress.

The silk-screen portrait had been held in the collection of Swiss art dealers Thomas and Doris Ammann.

It went under the hammer in New York yesterday and sold for a huge £157.8 million to a mystery buyer.

Tense bidding was over and done with in a matter of minutes as the portrait’s potential new owners went up against each other.

Alex Rotter, chairman of 20th and 21st Century art at Christie’s, explained the sale marked a strong return from the pandemic for the auction industry.

He urged people to let the huge pricetag ‘sink in’.

He added: ‘We did sell the most expensive painting of the 20th century. I’m very proud of that…I think everyone is very proud of that.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 21: Christie???s Americas chairman Marc Porter (L) looks on as Christie's chairman, 20th and 21st Century Art, Alex Rotter announces that Christie's will offer Andy Warhol???s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn painting of Marilyn Monroe during its May Marquee Week of sales at Christie???s on March 21, 2022 in New York City. The work comes to Christie???s from the Thomas and Doris Ammann Foundation Zurich and all proceeds of the sale will benefit the foundation. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
The eagerly-anticipated auction took place at Christie’s in New York yesterday (Picture: Getty Images)
American Pop artist Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987) sits in front of several paintings in his 'Endangered Species' at his studio, the Factory, in Union Square, New York, New York, April 12, 1983. (Photo by Brownie Harris/Corbis via Getty Images)
Warhol created five portraits of the Monroe, of which ‘Shot Sage Blue’ is one (Picture: Getty Images)

‘This is a big achievement that is not on me, but just on Warhol and Marilyn…20th-century works of art, American works of art, it’s the highest price ever paid, close to $200 million.

‘Let it sink in. It’s quite something.’

All proceeds of the sale will go to the Switzerland-based Thomas and Doris Ammann Foundation Zurich, which works to establish healthcare and education programmes for children around the world.

The Shot Sage Blue Marilyn is inspired by a promotional photo of Monroe from the 1953 film ‘Niagara,’.

Actress Marilyn Monroe
The portrait was created after the star’s untimely death in 1962 (Picture: Bettmann Archive)
A man looks at Andy Warhol's 'Shot Sage Blue Marilyn' during Christie's 20th and 21st Century Art press preview at Christie's New York on April 29, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
Shot Sage Blue Marilyn is from a series of five portraits of the actress (Picture: Getty Images)

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, although Shot Sage Blue Marilyn itself was not struck by a bullet.

The sale of the portrait set a new record for the highest amount an American artwork has ever been sold for.

Previously, a colorful 1982 painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat had been bought for £89,565,775 in 2017.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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