A famous Andy Warhol silkscreen portrait of Marilyn Monroe, sold for $195 million at a Christie’s charity auction, setting a record for the most expensive piece of American art ever sold.
The iconic Warhol painting shattered the previous record set by the late Brooklyn artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s untitled 1982 skull painting, which fetched $110.5 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York in 2017. Warhol had held the record prior to Basquiat after his 1963 work ‘Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)’ sold for $105.4 million in 2013.
The auction house estimated Warhol’s 1964 painting of Marilyn at $200 million before the event. The winning bidder was identified as Larry Gagosian, a US art dealer and owner of a chain of galleries.
Per reports, all proceeds gathered from the sales, 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.
Against a blue background with popping red lips, the beloved actress’ image has been displayed in museums around the world. The painting has a fascinating backstory, according to some reports. Originally one of five silkscreens painted in 1964, the 40-by-40-inch prints were stored in a stack at Warhol’s New York studio, ‘The Factory’.
According to Artsy, performance artist, Dorothy Podber stopped by and asked if she could “shoot” the paintings, and Warhol agreed, presuming she meant with a camera. Dorothy Podber pulled out a revolver and shot all but the turquoise print in the forehead. Warhol had the four paintings restored and they became known as the ‘Shot Marilyns’.
All five paintings have been sold for various amounts of money over the years. First, in 1967, the blue background painting sold for $5,000. The orange background sold for $17.3 million in 1998, then went to hedge fund Manager, Ken Griffin, for a rumored $200 million-plus.
“‘Shot Sage Blue Marilyn’ is the absolute pinnacle of American pop,” Alex Rotter, chairman of 20th and 21st Century Art at Christie’s said of the art piece. “The painting transcends the genre of portraiture, superseding 20th-century art and culture. Standing alongside Botticelli’s ‘Birth of Venus,’ Da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’ and Picasso’s ‘Les Demoiselle d’Avignon’, Warhol’s ‘Marilyn’ is one of the greatest paintings of all time”.
Kim Kardashian in Marilyn Monroe’s Gown
This comes just a week after Kim Kardashian stunned in one of Marilyn’s iconic gowns at the Met Gala. Kardashian wore the crystal-embellished gown Monroe wore when she sang ‘Happy Birthday to US President John F Kennedy’, in 1962. Several people who were astounded by the gown complimented Kim for the look.
However, a Marilyn Monroe historian and collector, Scott Fortner told local media that Kardashian’s look was “cause for concern”.
Fortner, who has one of the world’s largest private collections of Marilyn Monroe’s personal property, noted that the late singer wanted the dress to be one that was unique to her, a dress that no one but only she can wear.
“Monroe’s dress fit her perfectly. The gown worn by anyone else will not be a precise fit. In this case, Kim Kardashian’s measurements are somewhat different than Marilyn’s. It’s logically assumed the fabric and seams were stressed,” Fortner said.
It is worth mentioning that the multimillion-dollar gown is preserved in a darkened and temperature-controlled vault at the ‘Believe it or Not Museum’.
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