Why Larry Gagosian Bought Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe Portrait For A Record $195 Million

When the gavel came down Monday evening at Christie’s for Andy Warhol’s 1964 portrait of Marilyn Monroe, the $195 million price broke multiple auction records, including a new high for the Pop master himself. Like Warhol and Monroe, the buyer, art dealer Larry Gagosian, is also a familiar face.

“Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” is the now most expensive 20th century artwork ever to sell at auction, and also broke records for an American artist and is the second most expensive piece of art ever sold at auction, according to Christie’s.

The 77-year-old Gagosian made the winning $195 million bid (including fees) in the New York salesroom himself, but it’s unclear if he purchased the work personally or for one of his wealthy clients, including billionaire mega collectors such as David Geffen, Leon Black, Steve Cohen and Leonard Lauder. Gagosian’s representatives declined to comment to Forbes other than confirming the dealer did purchase the Marilyn portrait.

An art world titan for decades, Gagosian has 19 eponymous galleries from New York to Hong Kong, and is widely believed to surpass nine figures in annual sales. (In 2019, when GQ asked Gagosian if he was the first “billion-dollar dealer,” he replied, “I have no idea ... but that sounds like too much to me.”) As he nears his ninth decade, the dealer famously known as Go-Go shows no signs of stopping.

Gagosian’s entry in the art market was a long way off from a $195 million painting. He began in the 1970s by selling poster prints of ocean views out of a parking lot in Los Angeles for $20 apiece, before influential New York art dealer Leo Castelli took him under his wing. Castelli was known as the “Prince of Pop Art” and represented many artists who defined the era, including Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella—and Warhol.

By 1980, Gagosian opened his first gallery in Los Angeles, where he sold works by up-and-coming artists such as Jean-Michael Basquiat. Gagosian would go on to represent some of the biggest artists in the world, including Warhol and Cy Twombly, Willem de Kooning, Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons, who left Gagosian’s elite roster last year.

He soon made a name for himself with exhibitions that rivaled those of major museums, and many in the art world credit (and blame) him for helping send prices into the stratosphere. His larger-than-life influence has also expanded into pop culture. Noted Basquiat fan Jay-Z even name-dropped the dealer in a 2010 song with Kanye West— “Call Larry Gagosian, you belong in museums.”

And in a full circle worth of Jasper Johns, Gagosian once sold the very Marilyn portrait he bought this week. In 1986, Swiss collector Thomas Ammann purchased “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” from Gagosian, and Monday’s auction was a charity sale of the personal collection of the late Doris and Thomas Ammann. The auction proceeds benefited the Ammanns’ eponymous foundation that supports children’s charities. (Christie’s said that because the foundation is based in Switzerland, an American buyer would not be able to claim the purchase of the Marilyn as a charity tax write-off).

It remains to be seen if the record-breaking purchase signals a new era for Gagosian, who has always kept his roster of artists fresh to appeal to younger buyers, who are investing in art at increasing rates. Last week, Gagosian announced it had signed Anna Weyant, a 27-year-old painter who is the youngest artist to join his art empire. (The two are also rumored to be dating.) In March, the gallery also announced it would begin accepting cryptocurrency payments in bitcoin, despite Gagosian’s initial hesitation. Then again, staying agile is a key to longevity. When asked about his future plans by WSJ a few years ago, he laughed and declared: “Gagosian is going to go on forever!”